This was the first product we received
so it was the first to be tested. The box was very plain
looking (white with a sticker on it) and very small, we
wonder if this is how they plan to ship their product out to
retail stores.
Like we mentioned before, the tuner
itself was the smallest of the three, just slightly bigger
than a screwdriver handle. The included remote is very thin,
which can be good and bad depending on your taste. It was
made clear that this product is meant to be used with a
laptop or a desktop, which explains the small size. The
device allows you to watch, schedule, control, and record
live TV. It’s also capable of importing video footage from
sources like a VCR, camcorder, or DVD player.
Here is what’s included:
Digistor TV Tuner/PVR
USB Cable
Audio input cable
Audio output cable
S-video to composite adapter
Remote control
CD with driver
Ulead DVD Movie Factory 3
Ulead Video @ Home 2
Minimum requirements
P3 800MHz or higher (P4 2.4GHz is
required for DVD real-time recording)
256 MB RAM
DVD/CD ROM drive
USB 2.0 port
200 MB HD space for included
software
4GB+ free ultra DMA for video
capture
Windows XP SP1 or Windows 2000 SP4
Impressions
At first, we had a rough time testing
this tuner as it would not function properly. After checking
connections, cables, and everything else, we later found out
that we had to use updated drivers from the manufacturer’s
website in order to have the unit up and running.
I also found a problem with the supplied
audio cable because it has male leads on it. My camcorder
and Xbox console also utilize male connectors, making it
necessary to use female adaptors to connect either device,
and these were not included. To me, this is a very odd
mistake to make. Virtually every gaming or media device you
will want to connect does it in the same manner, with male
connectors. You could still connect a VCR or DVD player if
you were to directly connect the supplied cable to them.
The included instructions are very
short, and to the point. There is no additional user manual
for additional assistance. The instructions are the size of
a sales pamphlet, or perhaps a travel brochure. Some
additional tips or a troubleshooting guide would have worked
wonders, especially since I did experience problems with the
unit.
The included Ulead software is top
notch. Ulead makes excellent multimedia software, and it is
very easy to use. The unit does require the software
application to run in the background, because it is always
on “stand by” for the remote control. Here is a quick look
at the Ulead interface:
The software has three included skins
for the tuner, the above being default. The PVR
functionality with the Ulead suite is excellent. Scheduling
programming is quite simple, and works terrific. Here is a
quick look at the interface:
The top picture shows you the
programming in which is already scheduled, while the bottom
is the add/edit screen. This would be where you would
manually ad the programs to the schedule list, and is
accompanied by a preview in the black box in the upper right
hand corner. Of all the products reviewed here, the Digistor
has the best software suite.
Overall, once the bugs were ironed out,
the Digistor device really worked well. It makes an
excellent travel companion in any laptop bag because of its
remarkable size, and comes with the best overall software
package. Unfortunately, sometimes when problems arise, they
overshadow the strong points. If I were a customer of the
product, I would have probably taken it back when I found
the problems. The user manual is horrible, and the website
is difficult to navigate through. I did fix the problem
through an email via the company, but when I looked on the
website to locate the driver, I could not find it. More
advanced users like me should be able to solve this kind of
problem but for your average end user, it’s an unwanted
nightmare. It is quite possible that by the time this hits
the internet, the product on the shelf no longer has this
problem. One would hope so, anyhow.
