Product Reviews

The biggest problem with PC TV tuners has often been the bundled software, which can be very poor. As digital TV broadcasts now include a free electronic programme guide (EPG), though, and CyberLink's PowerCinema provides a brilliant interface, we thought those days were long behind us. Sadly, Kworld had to prove us wrong with its DVB-T 300U USB TV tuner. It gets everything wrong and is one of the most difficult products we've ever had to use.

Things start off well enough. The tuner is reasonably compact and its black and silver colour scheme will match many PCs and notebooks, although we prefer the smaller USB stick designs. Setup is easy and quick; we simply plugged the device in and used the supplied disc. On launching the software application it offered a search function, which found all the expected channels and stored them.

Channels are listed in the common DVB-T order, with ITV1 first. This dates back to the origins of digital TV in the UK with the

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ITV-driven ONdigital brand. However, we couldn't find any easy way of rearranging the channels into the more popular order, with BBC1 first. The interface presents the channels in a list, so to scroll through them you have to use the down arrow, which is the opposite of how all TVs and set-top boxes function.

Pressing the EPG button in full-screen mode appears to do nothing. This is because the EPG window opens behind the TV viewing window. It's only an EPG in the loosest sense of the term. It presents a text list of the programs that are currently on in the multiplex of channels you're watching. It doesn't even provide basic now and next information, and you can't resize the window itself to show all the information on offer. You certainly won't be able to use this to plan your viewing or schedule recordings.

Fortunately, the video quality is good. The picture doesn't suffer from compression artefacts other than the usual minor ones associated with digital TV. If you simply want to watch the occasional programme, this product could suffice. However, the Freecom DVB-T Stick reviewed in What's New, Shopper December 2005 is available for a similar price and has better software.

We reviewed the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-900 in What's New, Shopper March 2006, which scored only one star because of similar software problems. Digital TV hardware doesn't vary immensely these days, which means it's the software applications that make or break a product. Until Kworld improves its software, it will struggle to keep up with its competitors' products.