Home > Consumer Reviews > StartechUSB External TV Tuner with Remote Control

Pros: 1. Cheapest external TV tuner with remote.
Cons: 1. resolution limited to 320 x 240 pixels due to USB 1.0 bandwidith limitation.
2. Unstable driver on my Dell Precision laptop. Needs frequent reinstall of the application file.
3. Slow response to video capture, frequent frame drops even at lowest resolution.
4. Bundled application CD is not user friendly. You need to find your USB/TV application file folder from about 10 different supported hardware folers.
5. Bundled Ulead Videomaker software is two generation old. Need another $... upgrade to current version.

I bought the Startech USB TV tuner through amazon.com with free UPS ground and the box arrived my home within a week. It is a brand new white (OEM) box with all the cables and CDs. I have a Hauppauge WinTV PCI TV tuner card for about three years. It works great while it is annoying to open a small window on your monitor while you are working on something else. So I bought this external TV tuner for my Dell laptop and now I have two monitors to look at. However, whenever I unplug the TV tuner from my laptop, then restart the computer, there is a memory error message. When I replug in the TV-tuner, the remote is no longer functioning. However, a quick reinstall of the application file fixes this issue. So you better keep your application CD handy all the time. My desktop computer does not have this issue. However, you could buy a internal PCI TV-tuner card (without remote) for $... with true S-VHS quality.

In conclusion:
If you are not comfortable to manipulate your computer, don't buy this (Startech TV-tuner).
If you are looking for high quality TV image, don't buy this.
If you are into video editing, don't buy this.
If you are like me, enjoy listening to the TV but also don't want to miss watching any key shots, buy this TV-turner card for your laptop.

I own TV Tuner cards by AverMedia, STB, and 3dfx. I am very pleased with all 3, but I now needed a USB TV Tuner with a Wireless Remote. I couldn't find any except the Star Tech. I read some awful reviews about this product, but out of desperation I gave it a try. WOW, was I surprised. This unit is by far the best of all my TV Tuners. It has so many more features and installed seemlessly. I installed it on my Dell laptop that has XP as it's operating system. I'm not sure why this product received such bad reviews, but as one tech savy geek said, " most of the people who tried to install this TV Tuner must have had other problems with their computers at the time.

I've only had this card about a week, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The remote works all options including changing the size of the tv picture (find that somewhere else). The volume controls and mute, last channel, favorite channels and about 20 other options work perfect. The only 2 things I'd improve on this unit is the color of the remote (it's an off white)to a green to match the card and on certain stations you do get the white squiggly scan lines at the very top of the border (not a real problem). All in all, this is a top of the line TV Tuner selling for a giveaway price. I strongly recommend it. You will be very happy.

I was hoping for Plug and Play on my XP operating system...well, I didn't get that, but came close. I had to download a patch for XP from the ... website. I needed a phone call to their tech support also. Keep in mind that I am not the most computer litterate person that ever walked!! EXCELLENT customer support and right now as I type, I am watching CNN in another window!! It is EXCELLENT and at an EXCELLENT PRICE!!! GREAT picture (I am using cable)!!! Could NOT ask for more and I do plan on buying two more for gifts!!!

I've been looking for a way to watch TV on my laptop for years now. It's admitedly difficult to navigate the murky depths of no-name USB TV tuners out there. As a provider of professional computer services to many clients over the last ten years, let me give you my word that this is an amazing product. Installation is a breeze (I'm on Win2000, but noticed there are drivers for XP), without that usual hassle of "be sure to install the drivers first!" -- the installation says to plug it in, wait for Windows to detect it, then let it search the CD, and you're there! Well, one caveat, you do need to manually fire the software setup, but that goes easily. The software is not only very easy to use, but it's just simply very nicely done. The buttons make sense, and it's frankly easier to operate than the PowerDVD software bundled with most DVD-equipped machines. The remote control is *super*, even has a mute button, and it's so easy and fun to take snapshots of what you're watching. Remote also has a power button which will start up the application, as well as volume and all buttons you might need. Though it's easy to name the channels, unfortunately the name doesn't show up onscreen when you're flipping channels. It also comes with Ulead's VideoStudio, so with S-video input you can also use this thing to archive your videos onto CD/DVD! Before I purchased this, I went to several manufacturer's web sites, assuming I'd be needing to download additional drivers and software -- luckily I didn't, but I was very pleased to find startech's web site easy to navigate, drivers readily downloadable, and a decent support section. But you don't need to be as wary as me, just go ahead and buy this, and soon you'll be taking snapshots of The Simpsons and watching your VHS porn on you laptop just like me!

I bought this unit because I like to have financial news stations running in the corner of one of my screens. I do run more than one screen, so I do not know if that has a negative effect on operation. Installation took a few times, picture is fair to poor at best. The program is slow and unstable. The program runs ok on my desktop running XP professional, but won't run at all on my laptop running XP home. Its fine for what I'm using it for, but if I really wanted it to watch tv as a goal, I would have ended up returning this item. The USB feature is just too convenient.