J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul writes:
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The single biggest weakness with any TV related hardware you
buy, is the software. You can have wonderful pieces of hardware,
rendered completely useless by a lack of a good driver or
controls package. So you don't buy those things without reading
the customer review section to see whether the software was
usable or not.

Paul

Aren't there alternative softwares out there that work with a variety of
tuner heads? When these things (OK, USB tuners mostly) first came out, I
seem to remember much discussion that the software that came with them
was hardly usable, but if you used xxx instead they were much better.
(Such as using the right logical channel numbers for a start.)

Basically, if you read the customer reviews, the smart ones
tell you how best to run the gear.

If every customer is complaining the software they've tried
just isn't working out, and the product is getting panned, then just
stay away from it.

It's true that some of the commercial PVR packages support
a fair number of cards. But then, buying such a package,
becomes part of the purchase price of the tuner, and should
be priced in before you buy it.

Paul