Pinnacle trots out PCTV HD mini Stick USB tuners
by Darren Murph 
posted Sep 11th 2008 at 1:21AM
Mac users, PC users -- come one and all, as Pinnacle Systems is introducing not one, but two new USB HDTV tuners today to suit both of those crowds. The PCTV HD mini Stick (for PC) and TV for Mac HD mini Stick both get all the juice they need from a spare USB port and provide OTA HDTV reception, bundled software (Pinnacle TVCenter Pro 5) for recording, pausing and watching television, and support for ATSC / ClearQAM signals. Both options should be available before September ends for $119.99 and $129.99 (in order of mention).[Via Macworld]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Taylor @ Sep 11th 2008 2:37AM
If you're a follower of woot.com (one deal a day), you could have picked up the PC version yesterday for a special price, available before anyone else has them!
BrokenMonkey @ Sep 11th 2008 11:27AM
Damn if I had known that they weren't even out yet I would have gotten one!
Spyvie @ Sep 11th 2008 2:25PM
I saw this on Woot for $89 as well, I didn't order 'cause I already have the previous iteration from Pinnacle.
I do enjoy being able to watch the game in HD, while my fellow bar patrons are watching a 4:3 CRT.
I wonder if the QAM tuner works any better on this generation...
Harry D @ Sep 11th 2008 8:11AM
I've had 2 Pinnacle USB sticks over the past year and both were terrible. The last caused Vista media Center to stutter and record shows that couldn't be viewed, I assume because it required the use of Pinnacle's special software encoder in order to allow it to tune in VMC. It was horrible.
The other USB stick was just as bad, but different. QAM could only be tuned using Pinnacle's software, which I didn't like.
I replaced it with an Avermedia tuner and that works fine.
Rob @ Sep 11th 2008 9:07PM
Those are the very reasons why I went with Tivo. Although I hate its monthly fees, it's hassle-free. I completely agree that a HTPC is a more flexible system. But, I already have a PS3 and 360 (hd-dvd) to supplement for my other needs.
ryaninc @ Sep 11th 2008 10:10AM
I'll second the terrible comment. The tuner works okay, but the software that ships with the Pinnacle sticks is beyond horrible. The interface is bad, the software is slow, everything is very user-un-friendly. I will never buy a Pinnacle tuner again.
Rob @ Sep 11th 2008 9:08PM
Those are the very reasons why I went with Tivo. Although I hate its monthly fees, it's hassle-free. I completely agree that a HTPC is a more flexible system. But, I already have a PS3 and 360 (hd-dvd) to supplement for my other needs.
flawedskull @ Sep 15th 2008 10:19PM
I bought a Pinnacle stick few months ago. the software was sooooo soooo terrible, I have really now words for it. It froze continually, the video wud be 'floatin' away from the actual window, the response time when it was actually workin was like backing up 1 GB on a tape drive in 92. OMG do NOT buy Pinnacle.