Hauppauge WinTV PVR-USB2 2.2 build 22295 WHQL

The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR USB2, one of the largest USB tuners weve seen, costs $140. But big size does have some advantages: Theres enough room to clearly label each connector, further simplifying an already simple setup. The inputs youre most likely to fiddle with--composite and S-Video--are on the front of the box.
Configuring the WinTV software is straightforward, and you can fine-tune a channels frequency after setup, in case the automatic scan doesnt quite lock onto the channel properly.
The WinTV tuner software is fairly compact on screen. The controls run along two strips: one on the left of the interface and the other along the bottom, leaving considerable room for the TV image. You can hide or redisplay the control strips instantly by right-clicking anywhere on the TV image. DVR and recording controls remain hidden until you activate them. Some of the buttons are very tiny, especially in the time-shift and recording control panels.
Curiously, the remote control isnt particularly user-friendly. Five of the buttons on the remote control are unlabeled, and two of them seem to do nothing. It would have made sense to assign one of them to manage the softwares Surf feature, which displays thumbnails of current programming on all available channels, but this function isnt accessible from the remote. Adding to the confusion (which the abbreviated documentation didnt help resolve), some buttons operate differently depending on whether youre watching live or time-shifted TV.
When time-shifting video at high quality settings, the WinTV-PVR-USB2s image quality did not degrade. The WinTV software integrates with the TitanTV electronic program guide so you can schedule recordings in the EPG.
The WinTV-PVR USB2 comes with Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 SE, for burning recorded programs to DVD or CD. In contrast, the WinTV-PVR-150 includes a newer version of the same software--Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3 SE--plus Nanocosmos NanoPEG Editor 2.3 for editing MPEG files. With both Hauppauge products, the WinTV software made capturing and managing still images extremely easy.
The USB device offers one thing that its PCI cousin lacks: an FM tuner. Using a coaxial input, the FM radio tuner can receive radio transmissions over the included antenna.