The AVerTVHD Duet is your Pure HD Dual Digital, Compatible with Windows 7 TV tuner that will “Accelerate” your existing HTPC (Home Theater PC) to higher levels of High Definition Digital Entertainment. It’s designed to receive HD Digital TV Over-the-Air (ATSC) or Unencrypted Digital Cable (ClearQAM) signals directly to your PC! The AVerTVHD Duet has a single input, which adopts the PCI Express interface, which offers a stable and higher bandwidth transmission environment than the traditional PCI bus. One of the great features about a dual tuner is, with the included AVer MediaCenter application, users can watch one program, while recording another, or record two programs simultaneously! Better yet, if you have an available PCI-E slot, you can install a second tuner and record up to four different programs simultaneously, while viewing any of the four programs.Through the AVer MediaCenter application, which also supports all Windows Operating Systems (32 and 64 Bit), you will experience PIP (Picture-in-Picture) features. This function enables you to work on their PC and watch TV at the same time, providing more convenience to watch TV without interrupting your work! While working on your PC you can choose the PIP window size from 1/4, 1/9 or 1/16 on your PC screen. Also, you can select Transparent PIP and see through the Picture-in-Picture, not to cover anything on your desktop that you may be working on. PVR (Personal Video Recorder) features such as Pause, Rewinding and Recording Live TV as well as Scheduling Recordings and TimeShift are also part of the AVer MediaCenter application. Input Signal:75 Ohms TV Antenna Input; Package Includes: AVerTVHD Duet; Low Profile Bracket; Installation CD (Includes: Application, Drivers, Quick Guide and User Manual); Warranty Card
$ 43.00
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Works flawlessly on Windows 7,
Didn’t even try to install the software that came with it, Media Center on Windows 7 works great with this card. I have had various ATI cards, but was looking for a decent true dual tuner (not a hybrid or a combo). This exceeded my expectations.
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|Does the disappearing trick that other users described,
I wanted a dual ATSC tuner for mainly watching TV, and once a while record TV. I was using this in a workstation, which has no power management in either the BIOS or the OS (WinXP x64), so I thought it was safe to buy this after reading about other users who said theirs disappear from the Device Manager after going to S3 sleep.
I don’t use sleep or hibernation, so I thought it would not affect me, but after installing it for three days, it disappeared from the Device Manager on the fourth day. Restarting and shutting down the computer did nothing. I even moved it to another PCIe X1 slot, and it still wasn’t recognized. The only way it would get recognized again is if I cut the power to the power supply (turn off the switch in the back) and wait a couple of minutes. Mine disappeared with just about every other restart/startup of the computer, which is extremely annoying!
Based on the serial number, it seems Amazon is still selling older stock. Two days ago, the tuner was there on bootup, but then disappeared after it finished booting. You know it has disappeared because the AverQuick icon on your system tray turns from yellow to gray. Rather than try to deal with it, I returned the POS to Amazon for a refund. Presumably Avermedia has newer cards which fixes this issue, but I don’t want the hassle of dealing with it.
I think Avermedia should be made to recall all these cards… The complaints for this disappearing problem was dated back a few years ago…and I had thought all would have been addressed and fixed by now…but I guess I’m wrong. Too bad…it’s a pretty decent dual ATSC tuner (especially given the price) when it works.
UPDATE: With the availability of the $25 rebate, I decided to give Avermedia another chance, so ordered another one a couple of months later, and hoping that I would receive a later revision (given that Amazon must have a fast turnover for their products). This time I did received one with a much later serial number. However, despite that, it unfortunately still does the disappearing trick. After installation, I restarted the computer five consecutive times…and then it disappeared from the Device Manager.
Other users have mentioned that this problem is mostly with AMD systems, which my latest workstation is, so I decided to try it on my slightly older Intel Xeon based workstation…same issue there…
Some other users indicate that it might be a problem with heat. I touched it while it’s in operation with both tuner working (when it was recognized that it)…and it was just slightly warm. Deciding to investigate this issue further, I decided to underclock and undervolt my workstation to see if it makes a difference. The Duet seems to not disappear. I restarted the workstation many times and it did NOT disappear. Also, the ambient room temperature has been quite a bit colder than the last card I tested because it’s now December. I even put this in S3 sleep and then woke it up…and it was still there. It actually operated like this w/o issues for the past two weeks with many restarts and shutdowns w/o issue.
However, just as soon as I set the voltages and clock speeds back to default, the disappearing issues came back. Now, you’re wondering why I don’t just run my workstation at the lower clocks and voltages. But why bother upgrading to a faster workstation if you’re going to underclock it? The other thing was that the workstation (other adapter cards) wasn’t 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} stable at 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} of the time at the lower voltages. Besides, you expect 100{b81fbfd19e1fca5890798868c0714c408bbd5ec471654b6f9630c0fffa6e7eb3} stability from a workstation, unlike a gaming rig for example. So back this goes to Amazon again… I don’t think I’ll waste my time with trying another one (unless they come out with a newer version (not just revision).
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|Handles weak signals well,
The tunner works flawlessly with windows 7 64 bit. The tunners also handle weak signals well, much better than my wintv HVR9500 usb. Best off all, you get 2 tunners for $68.99! One important note, this card is digital only. and no FM. If you have any low power analog staions in your area you should add a hybrid tunner. Vista and latter will see up to 4 digital and 4 analog tuners, so adding as hybrid tuner will alow 1 more show to be recorded. A note about how manny tuners you should have. To ensure you don’t miss the beginning or end of any shows, (in case of those inevitable delays that ocasionally occure)you need at least 2 tuners to record consecutive shows on different channels. This allows a 5 or 10 min buffer at the begining and end. It is REALLY frustrating when you miss the last few minuits of a show because it was delayed and MC stoped recording to start another. These cards support PIP whan the included software is used, but I haven’t tried it yet.
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