At first glance, there's not a lot to endear the TV@nywhere board to a novice user. It requires fiddling with a jumper setting pre-installation to make sure you get proper PAL compatibility (although that's also testament to the breadth of TV standards the board supports). It comes in a box with suitably dodgy translation work on it. "Love it or leave it", it proclaims. "The television and its programs dominate the home living!" And it simply looks far more complex than, for instance, a USB solution. Throw in the fact that you need to get some driver updates from the MSI web site to get the best out of it, and it's understandable that some may not be initially impressed.

Give up at the early hurdles though, and you're missing out. While the likes of Hauppauge may have something to say about MSI's bold boast that its product has "more features than the other TV cards in the world", this is undoubtedly a smart piece of kit.

The manual doesn't help the installation, since it is dealing with two products in one document. You really need to make sure you're reading the right bit! The card itself takes up a PCI slot and comes with connections for S-Video, video in, audio in, line out and for the remote control attachment. There's also a connection for a cable TV signal, with an adapter supplied in the box for those using a traditional aerial.

Ultimately, the TV@nywhere is simple to install and it's a case of inserting the requisite lead to get the signal to the card. Audio can be handled via your sound card through the supplied line out cable, which simply plugs into the line in port on your audio device. The picture is pretty good when using an external aerial or other strong signal source.

Now to the software. The application of choice is InterVideo's PVS, and while it takes a little while to execute, it's a good utility. Wizard-driven initially to get things set up, it picks up whatever channels it can find and then defaults to a viewing area and floating control bar, similar to that used in Intervideo's own WinDVD software.

The combination of the card and software gives you the option of digital video recording functionality. Time-shifting (like TiVo) is supported, whereby you can effectively 'pause' a live TV program and your PC gets to work recording from that point. When you choose to un-pause the show, it carries on from exactly where you left off. Furthermore, you can also easily program the software, as you would a video recorder, to save a show to your hard drive. This is really a doddle to do and, ironically given the initial hurdles, makes it a good option for the novice user. It's not the most advanced piece of software, but it does the job.

As for downsides, the included remote control is a fairly cheap affair; quite fiddly and sensitive in use. And then there are those initial hurdles which genuinely won't endear the less experienced user. Finally despite MSI crowing about MPEG-4 support on the box, there's a download involved before you can use this feature.

Verdict
Where this TV tuner card really scores is in value for money; for £50 you really are getting a lot. The quality of the transmission picture is high, but that initial fiddling will undoubtedly frustrate anyone who's not happy to mess around with jumper settings and download new drivers.

Company: MSI

Contact: 020 8813 6688

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