Sabrent TV-USB20 USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Video Capture Box with Remote Control Reviews

• Pretty Well.... But Not So Good

  
  By A2Y9NAM2R7A5PU on 2006-06-18
  In my opinnion this product it's pretty well by the price but depends a lot of the configuration of the computer and the signal that you get.
  
  A regular "USER" will have a lot of problems, the computer reboots and a Blue Screen (clasic blue screen of windows due to memory problems) appears when i unplugged the tv box.
  
  I test it also in Win2000 SP4 and i can't put the tv box working in that OS.
  
  After many test i found the way to work properly, i always see if the pc have SP2 and DirectX 9.0c and then i use the wizard of New Hardware Found to install the driver and then install the remote control and the application. in that way the box function properly but DEPENDS A LOT OF THE SIGNAL because i use an internal antenna and is very difficult to get a good sign.
  
  Whit RCA (composed) an S-Video works fine but somethimes the image blinks also the audio so... it is a good product for the price but you can find a better ones.
  
  When you are using the remote control and press OFF the entire PC is shut down not only the application so....
  
  But i can't complain... To watch the World Cup on your work is a very good option. The box function, after many try's works fine.
  
  I bought 15 tv boxes and all function well. no one was broke. !!!
  
  (sorry for my not so good english)
  
  Español:
  Es un buen producto, tiene clavos al momento de instalarlo y a veces saca pantallazo azul ademas se resetea la computadora cuando se desconecta el TV BOX pero cuando se logra configurar, se ve bastante bien, aunque depende mucho de la señal de la antena que se utilice.
  A veces con cable brinca la pantalla y el audio, pero si se ve...
  La recomiendo por que es barata y si se instala como debe ser y la computadora cumple con los requisitos minimos pues si funciona es decir cumple lo que promete, pero para un usuario comun no va a ser tan facil hacer que funcione al 100%.
  Depende mucho de la configuracion de la computadora yo compre 15 y la mayoria me dio problemas al momento de instalarlas pero finalmente se vio bien en todas y ninguna me salio dañada.
  Respecto al Control Remoto pues si uno le da apagar, la computadora entera se apaga y no solo la aplicacion :S.
  En fin si buscan mas y gastan mas tal vez consigan algo mejor pero esta es bastante buena es practica ya que no pesa u es super chiquita y bonita. la ventaja es que le entra RCA S-Video y Coaxial y se puede capturar claro los archivos son enormes pero es una ventaja.
  
  

• STAY AWAY!!!

  
  By A1SZEBG6AGTLX6 on 2006-11-21
  If you want to mess up your computer, then by all means buy this "thing"
  I tried installing this on three different computers all with similar results...blue screen death!
  My main computer will not even go to restore points now because of this POS. I wish you could sue a company for the damage this thing did to my computer.
  BEWARE DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU VALUE YOUR COMPUTER
  
  

• Good enough, yet not a nice buy.

  
  By A33PAEY0P8CEJM on 2006-06-02
  It works pretty well with S-video and composed, but TV capture is bad, the good thing is the price, is really cheap, but if you want to capture with nice quality don't bother with this one.
  
  

• Drek

  
  By A1ZM0XS31JEFZ5 on 2007-04-14
  Would not install. Period. (Modern Alienware laptop, XP, properly updated)
  
  I tried all the techniques mentioned in the reviews. I tried following the instructions. I tried doing what Windows wanted. No matter. Nothing but the Blue Screen. It's going back.
  
  

• Buy another product !!!

  
  By A2F1FY5342OLPR on 2006-11-03
  I had purchased this product for use with my laptop computer, only to find that it did not work well with it at all. If you use it with a desktop computer, however, it will work fine, but finding this out defeated the purpose of my purchase. InterVideo's tech support about this product was not only lousy but left me with the feeling my self-esteem had been somewhat diminished after the (long-distance) telephone call. I found it wiser to get my money back from the vendor and return this product instead.
  
  [..]
  
  
• Worth The Price
  By ACNQ8LF3SBVNM on 2007-03-09
  I was overall pretty sattisfied with the product. It came with the tuner, all neccessary drives, remote control (which I never used), and WinDVR to capture footage with.
  
  It did pretty much what it promised, allows you to capture from any analog device such as a VCR or anything with Compostite Out jacks. Only problem is that the actuall tuner itself does not have an audio in left and audio in right, therefore forcing you to buy a audio composite to stereo 3.5mm jack. Another problem was the ability to only capture in the resolution of 720x480(unless you buy other expensive capturing programs). I recommend getting the free program Virtualdub and compressing to divx after you capture as many codecs drop frames when trying to compress while capturing(at least on my computer[2.2gHz proccessor])
  
  Overall, I'm satisfied with the purchase and do recommend it IF you can't or won't afford anything better. Now, I leave you with a list of Pros and Cons.
  
  Pros:
  1. Captures decent-to-good looking quality video if configure right.
  2. Great for getting all that old VCR footage on the computer and on to a DVD
  3. Very simple to install, and comes with capturing program. Though VirtualDub is highly recommended.
  4. Three video inputs - RF signal, Compostie, and S-video!
  5. External device, so you don't have to open your PC.
  
  Cons:
  1. Composite audio to stereo 3.5 mm jack needed for sound.
  2. Extremely large files unless compressed with VirtualDub afterwards.
  3. Can only capture in 720x480 resolution. Unless expensive programs are bought.
  4. I guess you get what you pay for but quality could be a bit better.
  
  
• Something wierd about this product
  By A2CJSMPFASDT73 on 2007-08-26
  OK, I'm in the camp that can't get this thing to install. Blue Screen of Death/Reboot on THREE different computers - both a laptop and 2 desktop machines, all with completely latest updated Windows XP. And I'm an extreme expert on computers and software, so I tried all the tricks without success.
  
  But some of the reviewers actually can get a picture. I'd love to get that far. But it is weird, because it wouldn't work on three different machines. All used nVidia graphics boards, so perhaps that is the issue?
  
  So maybe it will work for you, and maybe it won't.
  
  
• Great Product - I'm really impressed
  By A150DSSEWJ45J6 on 2007-03-22
  I read the reviews on this site and others and they were 50-50. Half the people loved this thing and half hated it. I figured with those odds and this low price, I'd give it a shot. I don't understand what problems those who hated it were having. I had no trouble at all. In under 5 minutes I was watching TV on my computer.
  
  The first step was to read the small setup manual that came with it. I connected the device to the cable line in my house and then plugged the USB into my Win XP laptop. As per the instruction I cancelled Window's new device window, then installed the drivers and software for the CD. It went perfectly smoothly.
  
  I bought this device to transfer a video from my camera to the PC. The only hitch was the audio connection on the Sabrent does not match the audio connector on my camera. No problem. I put the tape into a VCR and connected with the TV cable. Moments later I was recording the video to my PC.
  
  There is a ton of features in the software, that I need to start playing with. I also downloaded VirtualDub [...]) so I can edit the video. For the price of the Sabrent, I'm really impressed.
  
  
• Super cheap, works great for me
  By ACAG800A6LRX3 on 2006-12-09
  I found a great deal on this for about $26 with shipping. I plugged it in, installed the drivers and the software and everything works great, remote included. The picture quality isn't the greatest, but it's fine for just watching tv while I'm working on the computer and it's so cheap that I can't really complain.
  
  I had the PCI card version of the sabrent tv tuner first and it worked great for me too. I think people with older computers have most of the problems because from what I've read the software has issues with anything other than Windows XP Pro.
  
  
• Record TV shows like Tivo, edit and save shows
  By A2E53XPJUKHH5E on 2007-01-04
  This was very easy to install and worked very well.
  I recommend this for anyone who would like to record tv / other video sources. Price is very good.
  
  
• The sabrent usb tv tuner/video capture box works ...
  By A71IFFVR45TVZ on 2007-01-11
  Connect the cable to the sabrent's input and its usb to your computer, simple, now you can capture the video. Of course, you need to install the software the first time.
  The device doesn't have video output for tv, so, if you are using the sabrent, recording from cable, then you can't have cable in your tv.
  I am not really sure if the configuration is wrong, but most of the time when the device is recording, the video can't be seen, the video window turns green. In other words it records but doesn't show what is recording.
  The quality is tolerable, not for professional uses.
  
  
• Worst Ever
  By AGGVWGJCP294N on 2007-02-15
  The product is garbage. It doesn't even come with the right software and has no features
  
  
• Great Tv Box
  By A3B1IQRO8VMZT2 on 2007-02-19
  This tv box is great! Now I can watch Tv on my laptop or play playstation on my laptop. My laptop is a widescreen and the box also has the option to switch ratio to 16:9 for my laptop. I can record any show I want to my laptop now. I also love that you can shutdown your computer with the remote as well. Quality is also nice.
  
  
• U pay what u get for
  By A1KSI73MKDD1B4 on 2007-04-15
  I bought this product almost 6 months ago, and i still cant resolve the problem i have with it. Video quality is good, and u can record you're favorite programs and all that stuff, but my problem is that the audio sounds like if there was interference, so as the video, and i just cant resolve it.
  
  
• Good Value...
  By ANXI2NTPAP4GE on 2007-07-06
  Overall, am happy with it. It does what it's supposed to and the price was great. I'm new to video capturing, and there's such a wide range of pricing for these type of devices, it's hard to tell exactly what the difference is between this and one costing 3-4 times more. One thing that seems to be important, is having a capture device that will do the "legwork" (video processing) - something a direct USB wire setup cannot do. With an outside box like this, it doesn't commandeer your computer.
  I've been archiving old videos, and it's been a learning experience. After a LOT of testing with all video software out there, the one that works best is the one that's included free with it - WinDVR.
  Tip - running the sound through this box instead of directly into my sound card (as recommended everywhere), solved all sound syncing problems. Maybe one day, I'll try a more expensive device, though not sure exactly what it will do better - the picture is very good using S-video.
  
  
• Awesome Capabilities and Quality
  By A2MC7X88NOL18R on 2007-08-25
  First I would like to say that when I bought this device, initially I thought that I would be able to just get TV from the air. I was wrong, it is intended to get either input from an antenna or from a cable into the TV jack. There are also a S-Video input and a composite video input jack. The remote is awesome, although in XP you need to be in the WinDVR program on the top for it to respond. Also the recording of the TV is quite good, except there is a green screen covering what is being recorded. I'm still trying to see if its a setting that I turn off, but right now I can't record and watch at the same time. The quality of the video is surprisingly excellent. I'm going off to college and I have a cable jack in my dorm and this a great solution instead of getting another TV, especially since I have a second larger monitor in addition to my laptop. This is a excellent investment. With the composite and S-Video inputs, you can easily feed in video from a Video camera or VCR and record digital video to your computer, and then later burn that to a DVD. Make sure, that you get either the TV cable or a TV antenna for this device.
  
  
• Will not install
  By A1QXZAHPYBTC65 on 2007-08-28
  After many many unsuccessful attempts at installing the drivers for this box using the included CD, I've given up. I repeatedly got the blue screen of death...crashing my computer every time (Windows XP).
  
  
• USB Video Converter
  By A2UKW5SHF7EVL on 2007-09-13
  This is a great device for copying your VHS tapes to DVD. The only caution I have is that you have to be careful with Windows updates as if you update the USB driver that comes with the device it may stop functioning. I have not used the TV tuning function of this device.
  
  
• Excelent Option
  By A2UOSTHLQTSSLC on 2007-10-24
  Excelent option for the TV on the computer... only need the cable USB and the driver for winXP and no more.
  
  
• an inexpensive experiment
  By A9B596U9RNCZ8 on 2007-11-22
  running vista home premium on my laptop and it initially caused blue-screen problems. shut the auto-driver assignment on vista off, bring down the drivers from sabrent's website and ignore the winDVR software that came with it and it will work well enough from a video capture perspective. i haven't dealt with the remote or tuner at all and the installation was a lot more painful because it took a good 6+ hours of messing with vista and interwin before it was discovered that sabrent was the manufacturer (wasn't listed on the box or any included items). i was actually willing to call it a failed experiment at the cost of less than $30 but my brother was able to find out the manufacturer and once we brought down the vista drivers & software, it worked well enough. (i do have issues where i need to reboot if i run the software and do some video work, close it and try to relaunch the application. the video doesn't always stream to my PC). like i said, for as little as it costs, its not bad if you can get it to run. just try to start with sabrent as your step one.
  
  
• Works as it should, decent deal
  By AKSGFK1XCJPRR on 2008-02-12
  I'm a college student and having a limited amount of room in my dorm I decided to purchase an inexpensive TV Tuner. The cheapest one I could find was this one. Reviews were iffy but I took the risk and bought one. The first one was a complete failure (computers did not detect it). Fortunately Amazon has extraordinary customer service and sent out a replacement with overnight shipping FREE! Amazon is truly amazing.
  
  The replacement unit worked fine on my XP IBM Laptop. The installation went smooth, no driver problems, no windows problems, everything was fine. The WinDVR software that comes with it is indeed a great piece of software (worth 75 retail I believe) and you do get a serial # to keep.
  
  I've only tried out the TV tuner (coaxial) and the quality is decent, not as sharp as a TV but good enough for casual TV watching. The video gets out of sync w/ the audio occasionally but you just need to either reset the software or timeshift for a sec.
  
  The remote also works fine. It acts as a virtual wireless keyboard, so I use it to control my winamp also :-)
  
  All in all a very decent product especially for the price. If you're an intermediate PC user you should be able to work out any kinks if they arise, but if you're a complete newbie its more risky to buy b/c this package is not the most user friendly and not very thorough.
  
  
• Only worked for a week
  By A1B74PVRZI18GJ on 2008-07-06
  The tuner worked fine for about a week, then I started getting a message about a "USB power surge" whenever I connected it to my desktop. If I connect it to the laptop, the laptop just shuts down as if the battery had been removed.
  
  
• Not the best TV tunner I have had but not the worst either.
  By A3G16QA2SFFWS4 on 2008-08-30
  Pros: The software for watching TV is very easy to set up and use. The video capture and screen shot features are very good quality. The DVR function is a nice addition to the software.
  
  Cons: WARNING, DO NOT use the install software to set up the device driver, It crashed my system and corrupted my CD rom and onboard sound card drivers, I had to do a re-install of windows to fix it. Just plug in the USB and let the windows found new hardware wizard search the CD for a driver. Also the sound is very quiet coming from the USB connection, It works better to plug speakers into the audio output on the unit. And I have an issue with low frame rate and the video ( but not audio ) skipping while playing in full screen mode and my system is top of the line.
  
  
• A little buggy
  By A1YL67KU2QDEYR on 2007-01-03
  It is ok for the price you are paying but dont expect great picture quality, it also has some bugs but all and all for the price i would say it is worth it
  
  
• very disappointed
  By A283FJE2GBOYTW on 2007-01-25
  When I tried setting up this tuner on my laptop (a Dell Inspiron 8600 running Windows XP Pro, 512 MB RAM and an NVIDIA video card), I could only tune to 4 (FOUR!) cable channels. Although tech support was helpful at times, I could only access them via email; Sabrent's phone line NEVER offered live customer service. This was a complete waste of time/money. The return process, which was very easy, was by far the best part of this experience.
  
  
• Nice price but confusing
  By A46GF0WUXSX8T on 2007-02-07
  Hooking this thing up was easy enough but getting it to work was another story. It took me a couple of hours to get it to work with my cable box and I'm still not sure how I got it to work. This was VERY frustrating because I'm pretty computer literate. The resolution was OK but considering the price I would have to say it's better than expected. With limited features I don't see myself using it on my desktop computer, the 12" color TV box in my office is much more efficient but I can see myself using it on my laptop. It's a pretty neat product so I'm sure I'll find a use for it eventually.
  
  
• It good way to use on laptop.
  By AVTQCYSEALAQ6 on 2007-04-28
  This small machine had 480i resolution, not HD. it good for when you want to play game, but someone's using the TV. Your laptop pc it a good choice for secodary TV. It watchble,recordble, and use any where. It is a good chice when you using for tv without have fight for the tv, because your pc could be your second way to tv.
  
  P.S. it good when you have a small speaker on the side, because you don't want to connect to Tvbox audio when using as tv, not record any thing.
  
  
• Good For the Price
  By A2P3QB58WM89XY on 2007-06-12
  For 30 bucks, you really can't expect too much. I was pleasantly surprised with the picture quality. I'm deployed to the middle east right now, and this is serving me great! I couldn't get a tv for this price. It's compact, and the picture quality is what you would expect from a low end model. My only complait is I had to actually go online to download the Vista drivers. With the slow conection I have here, that initself is a chore. Besides that, great product for the money!
  
  
• Good Product
  By AW593ESU8ETUB on 2007-07-13
  Despite all of the bad reviews I bought this product and I love it. The quality could be better. The Remote Needs to be pointed right to the box.
  The Recording is good. The Pause and playback could be better but for $30.00 it is a decent tv tuner. I don't know what people are saying "this product destroyes your computer" or whatever. So Forget the people who say. "Buyer Beware". I also don't reccomend this product for laptops from the reviews from other sites. Overall I think it is a very well designed peice of hardware and the software is easy to use.
  
  
• Good value for money
  By A24NLKQXWXZ1GA on 2007-08-11
  Overall it is a good product, the only thing is that sometimes the voice gets out of sync with video, which you can always restore by restarting the software (Win DVD R)
  
  

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