WinTV-HVR-955Q

This review is for the most recent revision of the 950Q, purchased in January of 2012. It's worth pointing out that this is a different package than that sold previously, with the same model number. The back of my stick reads as follows:NTSC/ATSC/QAM HD TV receiver72001 LF Rev B4F0 4311.(It also lists a unique MAC address, which you may need if dealing with your local cable company)The box this shipped in is a smaller box than shown in the images, above, and instead of the white styrofoam insert, there's a brown corrugated cardboard insert.The stick is present, as is the little AV patch cable, and the antenna, as well as a remote. I say "A remote" because the remote provided is NOT the remote shown in the images above. My remote is not the type with a membrane switch face, and would not slip into the card slot of a laptop (and since those slots are not even included anymore, that makes sense). The new remote has the same raised rubber buttons most remotes have, albeit in a small and portable form factor. It seems as though there are a couple of buttons on the other remote which aren't present on this one, but since I can't see a close-up of the other remote, I can't be certain.The remote I was provided with seems to work fine, but there's a significant "lag" between using it and having the WinTV 7 software respond. (By the way, this package came with the latest version of WinTV7, v2.4d, on CD, which leads me to conclude that this is a newer release, not an older one, though there's no way to be certain).The antenna seems to work better than I'd have expected, and should be more than servicable for my "travel use" needs. I need to get a slim coax cable to travel with to patch into cable TV as well, and that's not provided here... only the antenna is provided. But the antenna works nicely... I was able to get 16 channels here in Austin, TX, while the FCC's site suggested I could only expect to receive about ten.It's worth noting that I get more channels using the provided WinTV application than I do when using Windows Media Center. I fail to see why the provided application would receive more, but it does. I get about ten channels using WMC, with the rest being "below threshold."The antenna provided is acceptable, but a better antenna will undoubtedly improve overall reception. I plan to obtain a "leaf plus" antenna (which should be easy to carry when traveling) which will, if reports hold true, double the number of receivable stations for me. We'll see. Of course, a real, outdoors directional antenna would be a huge benefit, but that's impractical for a device whose main reason for existence is to be PORTABLE, after all.As several others have mentioned, the device becomes warm. Not "HOT" (ie, you can still touch it) but it clearly draws a lot of power. Your best bet, long-term, is to use it with an external, powered USB hub. However, it works just fine off my little netbook's internal power. The install guide recommends not using it with a hub, but that seems clearly to be more about power than about "lag," and going through an externally-powered hub should cause no problems. (I plan to obtain a new 8-port powered hub later tonight, and I'll revise this review if this changes.)The remote isn't "ideal" but is acceptable. However, I strongly recommend trying a little device made by a Chinese company called "Riitek." You'll find several variations of that being sold on Amazon right now, and often using different names (usually the exporter selling it into the USA, not the original manufacturer, though).I have this little device in both BT and 2.4Ghz radio versions. Unless you find the idea of using a "dongle" undesirable, I actually prefer the 2.4Ghz version overall, though they're effectively identical in most ways. Here's the one I bought... though the name it's listed under on Amazon has changed since I bought it.http://www.amazon.com/FAVI-Entertainment-Wireless-Keyboard-TouchPad/dp/B003UE52ME/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_tAnd here's the Blutooth version... which is nicer, overall, but nearly identical... and which has the minor drawback of occasionally dropping connection in "blutooth-heavy" environments (like, say, airports).http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Cellphones-touchpad/dp/B0042VF30U/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1326141350&sr=1-3You'll find these sold by a number of folks on Amazon. ALL are made by Riitek. They're GREAT devices, frankly, and are of high-quality (unlike so many Chinese-made-and-designed objects I've dealt with over the years). I'm very happy with them, and strongly recommend them. Using this as a "remote mini-keyboard and mouse" easily replaces your little Hauppauge remote, especially when working with Windows Media Center.

This tuner has exceeded my expectations. It's my first experience with a PC tuner, and first experience with Windows Media Center, as well. I was driven to a tuner by my desire for a new big screen TV. For years, I have used a Vizio HDTV for my computer monitor. That TV had a picture-in-picture feature that allowed me to watch TV while doing other computing. None of the current HDTVs offer PIP. This device gives me the functionality I need.I was concerned that the tuner would not be as sensitive as the tuners in my HDTV's, and would not be able to pick up as many channels, via the antenna in my attic. Wrong! It picked up all of my regular channels, as well as a few more. (Only 1 of the extra channels was really watchable; signal on the others was marginal, which may explain why the HDTVs had not registered them.)The installation with Windows 7 Home Premium was simple. Drivers were downloaded and installed automagically, by Windows. I didn't need ANY of the software on the provided disc. The hardest part of the install was finding the invisible menu in Windows Media Center. I had hooked up the tuner, but, because I could not find the menu, I de-installed WMC, rebooted, then reinstalled WMC. That was probably not necessary, but, at least I stumbled into the menu, on the later attempt. The menu walked me nicely through channel registration.There are two things in the packaged install provided on the disc that I wanted in my setup: the signal strength meter, and the software to allow use of the remote control. Although there are no menu items on the install disc to get these individual components, it may be possible to get them installed via disc navigation with Windows file manager. But, I had already seen the two items as available in the support area of Hauppauge's web site, so, I downloaded and installed them.Windows users that do not have WMC will want to install from the disc, to get the WinTV application, which I did not try.Windows Media Center works great. And, it works great with the Hauppauge remote... kinda-sorta. The signal from the remote is very weak, the small gummy buttons (the current remote does not match the product photo on Amazon) are hard to use accurately, and the buttons repeat after a not-very-long press, so, it's easy to accidentally toggle the mute button on-off-on-off, for example. Another problem with the remote is that there's no dot or dash to use during direct input of over-the-air channels. You can not enter 3.2, so, you can not do direct entry of any OTA channels; you have to use channel up/down, or select from the WMC guide. Also, the Prev Channel button does not work as expected in WMC: it toggles between full screen and window, which is nice to have.So, I set about teaching the tuner's remote functions to my universal remote. Now, I have a sweet, sweet setup. There's one other minor niggle about the remote's functions with WMC. I'm not sure whether Hauppauge or Microsoft is more to blame, and whether there might be a workaround: When WMC is not the active window, it cannot receive channel change or menu functions, while volume controls do continue to work. Since I'm normally working on other applications, the WMC window is usually not the active window. Oh, I JUST found a partial workaround while checking details for this review: the WMC On/Off button on the remote also functions to make WMC the active window. So, if I had been using another program, then set the keyboard/mouse aside, then later want to change channels with the remote, I can hit the power button, then the channel button.The tuner unit is warm, but, not hot. You do have to position the unit with extension cable thoughtfully to receive remote functions, and this makes it a challenge not to have unsightly cables laying all around.I love this tuner, but, will take off one star for the minor annoyances.---2 months later: Well, the remote functions were nice, but, they died. No, there's nothing wrong with my universal remote, nor the one that came with the tuner. But, the IR receiver in the tuner seems to have gradually died. In the beginning, a few functions stopped working, or became inconsistent. Reboot, or stop and restart of the IR software sometimes fixed it. Now, all remote functions are gone. I have new appreciation for keyboards with media buttons. Also, I have become aware of keyboard shortcuts for Windows Media Center; all functions you would control with a remote can be controlled by a standard keyboard. For the remote problem, I'd have to downgrade the tuner by half a star.