The GOTVIEW PCI Hybrid TV and FM tuner is an interesting budget solution with DVB-T support. GoTView PCI DVD tuner: TV plus MPEG2 hardware encoding

Introduction

I think no one will argue with me that today the Russian market is saturated with TV tuners for personal computers. For any computer and for every taste - internal, external, standalone - they all have similar functionality, often common advantages and disadvantages. We can talk endlessly about bad TV tuners. After all, when buying such a device from an unknown manufacturer, the user risks encountering not only low-quality software, but also with the lack of support for the SECAM format, on which most television channels in Russia are broadcast today. As a result, you will have to enjoy only black and white images. No matter how strange it may seem, this is a very common situation. And we can talk about non-working drivers and inconvenient software for days on end.

When talking about good TV tuners, you immediately think of reputable manufacturers Aver, Pinnacle and Prolink (PixelView). During his presence on Russian market, these companies have done everything to ensure that their products become the standard of quality. But today these three will have to make room, because a new company is claiming their place, a new name in the TV tuner industry - GoTView, whose tuners were specially developed taking into account the specifics of the Russian user and Russian broadcasting. We welcome the first TV tuners for Russian roads from GoTView! Today, the GoTView line of TV tuners includes two models - internal with PCI interface and external, stand-alone, connecting between the monitor and the computer. In this review we will look at the internal tuner GoTView PCI versions with built-in FM receiver.

GoTView PCI

A small cardboard box with a rather simple design somehow did not fit into the total mass of other boxes from computer hardware. Probably because the box design was done entirely in Russian. Although this localization seemed unusual, it left a very good impression.

Inside the box are:

• The GoTView PCI TV tuner itself
• Remote control
• T-shaped radio antenna
• Audio cable for connecting the tuner to sound card
• IR receiver (eye) for remote control
• Instructions for installing a TV tuner
• Two CDs with software

Before moving on to a more detailed examination of the TV tuner itself, I suggest you familiarize yourself with its characteristics and understand what all the delights of localization are of this device for a Russian user.

Characteristics of the GoTView PCI TV tuner

• Interface - PCI, 32-bit
• Chip - Conexant BT878
• 125-channel analog block manufactured by TCL
• Supports PAL/SECAM/NTSC standards for TV broadcasting
• FM stereo decoder for radio playback
• Extended range of VHF-FM radio broadcasts

Connectors:

• Coaxial connector for TV antenna
• Coaxial connector for FM antenna
• Composite RCA video input
• S-Video video input
• Line stereo audio input

Software features

• Ability to scan a specified range with a specified step
• Adjustment of channel frequency in 0.01 MHz steps with the ability to enter a specific wavelength value
• Preset settings for the main channels of Russian television and radio
• Individual picture and sound settings for each channel
• Selecting the resolution for preview and full screen viewing
• Ability to capture individual frames in BMP, GIF and JPEG formats with resolutions from 80x60 to 768x576 at the touch of a button or on a timer
• Capture video images in resolutions from 80x60 to 768x576. Ability to set timer recording
• Capture and encode audio with any codec installed on the system
• Ability to set application priority when capturing
• Ability to play recorded AVI and WAV files without exiting the program, as well as directly during recording
• Full capture information:
  • size and duration of the captured fragment
  • free disk space
  • possible recording time based on available free disk space
  • number of frames captured and dropped
• A video editing program from InterVideo with great editing capabilities and a wide range of professional capabilities. Completely in Russian.
• Automatic saving of settings.
• Possibility of reserving disk space for recording a fragment.

Many of the software features are unique to GoTView tuners. Those who do not record programs from television and radio on a computer will never need many of them, but fine-tuning channels and searching with a given step will clearly appeal to those users who are in an area of ​​​​uncertain reception of high-frequency signals. We will look in more detail at some of the capabilities of the tuner software a little later, but for now it’s time to take a closer look at the device itself.

The TV tuner itself is made on a printed circuit board coated with dark brown varnish. The board is quite small in size - its length does not extend beyond the contacts of the PCI slot. The board panel is golden in color and contains the following connectors (from top to bottom):

FM antenna

TV antenna

Jack for connecting an IR sensor

RCA video input

TV input socket

Line audio input

S-Video video input

Line audio output

To the right of the sockets located on the board socket, the tuner has two four-pin connectors for connecting a sound card via internal input and output.

Thus, the sound card can be connected to the tuner using standard audio cables from a CD-ROM. The presence of such internal connectors can be considered an advantage of the board, because although in modern conditions nothing prevents you from transmitting sound via the PCI bus, but in the case when you need to transmit the audio stream directly through a sound card, such a connection is more convenient than using a cable through sockets on the tuner and sound card bracket.

The heart of the TV tuner is the Conexant Fusion 878A chip. In general, this is almost a standard solution for modern TV tuners. This endcoder has proven itself well over the past years and today is already that “old, good, proven” solution that can be used without fear of consequences.

The analog TV tuner unit is manufactured by TCL. By today's standards, of course, it looks a little anachronistic, since on modern TV tuners the analog blocks are several times smaller, but this is not a reason for concern. This analog unit combines a television and radio receiver and, as we will see later, copes with its task perfectly.

As befits any normal tuner, GoTView PCI has a control panel that operates on IR rays. True, this remote control, unlike many others, is very convenient. The remote control is powered by two AAA batteries. Oddly enough, against the backdrop of the total Russification of the TV tuner, the remote control is distinguished by English-language inscriptions. Although, if you think about it, how, for example, can you translate the signature “Sleep” or “Mute”? These words are already so familiar to our Russian user that it’s time to add them to Dictionary Russian language.

Some expensive TV tuners and combiner boards, which combine a powerful 2D/3D accelerator with tuner functions, use radio wave-based control panels. There is nothing to say - this solution is very convenient, but the remote control in this case will cost much more, and we are talking about a tuner for the Russian market, and here the price is of great importance. Therefore, to control the tuner in GoTView PCI, we use infrared rays that are already familiar to us.

The IR ray sensor connects directly to the TV tuner board and can be placed anywhere on the computer case. In the kit for the GoTView remote control, we did not find a sticker for fixing the sensor on the computer, but the fact is that the GoTView PCI tuner had been in some other test laboratories before us, so it’s possible that the sticker was lost somewhere because they didn’t want to I wish they “deliberately” forgot to put it in the box for the tuner.

Installation and testing

After installing the TV tuner into a free PCI slot and booting the system, you need to install drivers and software. Under the operating room we use Windows system XP drivers installed themselves when you installed the CD in CD-ROM drive. Installation of the program for receiving television and radio programs is also done with a few keystrokes.

As software, GoTView offers us software based on the best program for TV tuners - Fly DS. The original program, adopted by thousands of users around the world as an alternative to the viewers that come with default tuners, has been redesigned by GoTView programmers specifically for this tuner.

This program already contains frequencies of Russian television channels and FM radio stations. That is, after installing the tuner, you most likely will not have to go through the procedure of scanning and sorting channels. Although, this is not a fact, because if your TV programs are broadcast on cable TV, you will have to scan the entire range. True, the scan is here at top level. You can scan the entire frequency range, as well as a selected one, with a specified step. For each channel, you can manually set the frequency with an accuracy of 0.01 MHz. Here you can also adjust the sound volume and brightness, contrast, warmth and color saturation for each channel individually.

A special task scheduler will help you organize turning on and recording TV programs at the right time. Here you select the channel, date and time when the tuner will be turned on and the duration of its operation or capture. It’s very convenient, by the way, so as not to overwork yourself on the computer and not miss your favorite series. True, when capturing video in this way, you do not display any statistics on the capture and you may not even know whether the recording is being made to the hard drive or not.

But manual capture, called by one press of a button, is replete with settings. Here you can reserve disk space for the next video file, select the resolution, apply filters, change the quality of video and audio compression, and also get full statistics on the capture - what frame rate is being recorded and how many frames are skipped. There is a loading indicator at the bottom of the video capture window central processor system and if the load is high, you can manually increase the priority of the recording program.

Impression

Our test laboratory carried out cable television, so the preset frequencies of Russian TV channels turned out to be useless and we had to scan the entire range. The scanning was carried out with a minimum step, so it took quite a long time. Of course, if you don’t have a lot of time, you can reduce the scanning step, but we were in no hurry. As a result, the TV tuner found all available channels and even a couple of those that the existing one did not find Samsung TV, which, according to the manufacturer, was also adapted to Russian broadcasting specifics. I was very pleased with such a high sensitivity of the tuner, because more channels were available on the computer than on the TV.

The image quality produced by the tuner was also pleasing. Fine-tuning the channel frequencies helped minimize noise on the channels where there was noise. Video capture and compression also did not cause any complaints. The abundance of settings and convenience of the software allows you to maintain the same balance when convenience is not put at the expense of functionality.

As for radio broadcasts, as a rule, there are no complaints about radio tuners and GoTView is no exception. The tuner received VHF channels and to receive them there was no need to run a separate module or a separate program - in the viewer you just need to switch the channel and the computer will turn from a TV into a radio.

conclusions

A TV tuner optimized for the Russian user will have a great future in our country. High sensitivity of the analogue unit, high-quality software, complete Russification and a set of unique features - this is what a tuner for Russian roads should be like.

No flaws were found in GoTView during testing. Perhaps the WinDVD Creator program for editing and creating your own video collection is less convenient than Pinnacle Studio 8. But again, Pinnacle comes bundled with inexpensive tuners trial version Studio programs 7 or Studio 8 with a 30-day validity period, and GoTView comes with a full licensed version of WinDVD Creator in Russian. True, if you wish, you can purchase any installation software on the Russian market.

Summing up all of the above, we can state the fact that such whales of the TV tuner market as Aver, Pinnacle and Prolink (PixelView) will still have to move up and share a place on the pedestal with the newcomer GoTView.

Mikhail Degtyarev (aka LIKE OFF)
02/10.2003

I think I won’t be wrong if I say that most users interested in computer devices don’t even know about the GOTVIEW brand. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese industrial group of the same name presented under this brand on the Russian market last year a rather interesting range of multimedia products, among which was our today's hero - the GoTView PCI internal TV tuner.

All products supplied by this company are adapted to the conditions of each country separately, and our experimental product is no exception. The manufacturer especially emphasizes its unique software, with which the Russian user will be very comfortable working. Well, let's see...

Equipment

The fact that this product did not accidentally end up on the Russian market becomes clear after you pick up the nice box. Just from the information that I found on the box, the potential buyer gets a “very positive” picture of the board’s capabilities, especially after the loud statement on the box about ideal television.

Inside this cardboard miracle of design, along with the tuner board, we found a remote control with a pair of AAA batteries, a standard T-shaped FM antenna, an audio cable for connecting to the linear input of the sound card, an external IR sensor for the remote control, two CDs - one with drivers and working software, the second with a set of programs for capturing and processing video from InterVideo (WinDVR and WinDVD Creator) and small instructions in Russian for installing drivers for different versions OSes from Microsoft.

Almost a standard set with the exception of one very nice thing - a disk with full versions software from InterVideo, which greatly expands the board's capabilities. Of course, I understand perfectly well that in our country getting any software is not a problem, but having at least some useful licensed software at home is a pleasant clearing of conscience :)

Design and technical characteristics

Black varnish, high-quality soldering, a golden plate with connectors - these are clear signs of a brand, and a brand with a big name. It seems that GOTVIEW is challenging the famous brands whose names are on everyone's lips. But one varnish is not enough. To qualify for leadership, the design must meet high modern requirements.

And this very design is based on the Conexant Fusion 878A chipset.

You can argue for a long time about the advantages of this or that chip, but still, more modern microcircuits from the same Conexant or Philips give best quality Pictures. However, they, like new, unused chips, do not yet have the choice of software and developments in it that the 878 can boast of.

The high-frequency analog receiver unit TCL2002MB-33F has its roots in the Philips past.

The engineers clearly did a great job on the design of the board itself - everything was done quite compactly. As a result, the length of the tuner does not extend beyond the PCI slot.

Even before the chipset, two four-pin audio connectors for connecting an input audio signal source and for connecting a tuner to a sound card caught my eye. For some reason, such a solution is not often seen on TV tuners of different, even very prestigious brands. Meanwhile, it is very useful, because thanks to these connectors you can free up external audio inputs/outputs, as well as overlay and mix audio from other audio sources.

The presence of these connectors speaks of some kind of professionalism.

Well, the main connectors, of course, are located on the golden plug. There are: FM antenna connector, TV antenna connector, socket for connecting an infrared sensor, low-frequency AV video input, minijack audio stereo input, composite S-Video input, minijack stereo audio output.

Well, in my opinion, everything necessary that only happens on TV tuners is present here.

Remote control and IR sensor

The 30-button remote control has a special curved ergonomic shape that fits perfectly in the hand. All rubber buttons are located not anyhow, but thoughtfully - for ease of operation. Even the lowest buttons are very easy to press, as the elongated shape of the remote control makes it easy to hold.

The remote control controls both TV and FM, so you don’t have to get up from the couch.

The only complaint I have about the remote control is the variety of colors on its body. It could have been done more modestly, but this is my personal opinion, and, as you know, there are few like-minded people in terms of taste and color.

The length of the wire of the remote IR sensor is, as always, short. I just don’t understand, is it a pity for manufacturers to make it not one meter long, but two? Well, if my computer is on the floor under the table, then where should I, excuse me, put this sensor? But this is most likely not GOTVIEW’s fault, because... The length seems to be some kind of standard.

Working with the supplied software

Installation of drivers was very fast and almost automatic. My Windows XP easily recognized two new devices in the system.

By the way, in old version GoTView added four devices to the system.

After that, I carefully examined the CD and there I found excellent instructions for installing and working with the TV tuner, where everything was described in great detail. The instructions are in PDF format, so to read it, there is a folder with AdobeAcrobatReader 6.0 on the disk. In addition, there is also a folder with InternetExplorer 6.0 and a folder with the main program for working with the GoTView Pro tuner, which occupies as much as 1.9 MB. But it’s not about size, but about quality.

Installing the program took no more time than installing the drivers. After launch, it was proposed to edit the settings for a specific job, but for now we will take a closer look at its interface:

The player's interface is quite unusual and does not at all resemble the usual elongated control panels from the software of other TV tuners.

Another innovation that the manufacturer introduced concerns switching between TV and FM operating modes. Now everything happens in the same panel - you switch channels and switch TV to radio. This is the situation if in the right corner of the three possible TV/FM/TV+FM modes you select the last one.

The lower left corner is occupied by six sliders responsible for brightness, contrast, warmth, saturation and other similar characteristics. They, along with the volume, are adjusted separately (!) for each channel. Indeed, each channel has its own display features, so why limit yourself.

To the right of these settings are icons for six items in the tuner's main menu - Capture, Channels, Scheduler, Settings, TV program and Channel Listing. They are located in a completely incomprehensible way, so we will consider them in a different sequence.

Channels. The first thing that catches your eye when entering this menu item is a huge table with the names, frequencies and characteristics (system type, volume, color settings) of not only TV channels, but also FM stations.

Firstly, the presence of this table immediately in the newly installed program indicates that the manufacturer took care of the end user and created a database for all Russian television broadcasting (16 channels) and partial radio broadcasting in the FM range (6 stations of the Moscow FM range). The small number of FM stations can be explained simply - each city has its own, and it is simply impossible to keep up with changes in the frequency of their broadcasts, as well as with their new names. Secondly, as you have already noticed, in the table both TV and FM are in one list. They can be distinguished only by the broadcasting system (varieties of SECAM, PAL, NTSC or FM).

The right side of the "Channels" field is reserved for editing certain characteristics of this table. Here you can not only change the channel name, broadcast system, adjust the volume and brightness, but also assign an icon for the channel or FM station. 16 icons for the main channels are already hardcoded into the GoTView Pro database. In addition, here you can fine-tune the channel frequency with an accuracy of 0.01 MHz (!) or simply set a new one by selecting it from the entire operating range of the tuner and writing it manually.

In the upper left corner there is an extremely useful Scan button, which will definitely come in handy for you. You can scan both the entire frequency range and the range of the standard channel grid. The scanning range, as well as the step (minimum step 0.02 MHz) are selected manually. In addition, the user can decide for himself which search method the tuner will work with.

In my opinion, the widest possible search opportunities are collected here desired channel. The signal will not go unnoticed!

Settings. This menu item consists of three fields - “View”, “Interface” and “About”. In the “View” field, you can adjust the resolution when viewing, with the ability to enlarge the image with cutting off the edges, adjust the aspect ratio, etc. The most important thing here can rightfully be considered the deinterlacing setting, which allows you to save your nerves. Let me remind you that interlacing is a comb that appears on moving objects and spoils the entire viewing experience. Usually this function is implemented in the tuner software, but not always efficiently. Here you can set one of five deinterlacing modes, or not use it at all.

The "Interface" field is responsible for setting up messages displayed on the screen, for selecting a sound source and for other functions, which you can familiarize yourself with from the figure.

Capture. A rare TV tuner can boast so many settings for capturing Video, Audio and just pictures. It’s not for nothing that GOTVIEW pays great attention to the ability to work with recorded video and even included a disc with software package from InterVideo. Five fields allow you to qualitatively configure everything connected with it - AVI, WMV, Sound, Image, Network.

AVI. Perhaps even an experienced user will initially have some concern about correct settings all parameters displayed here. But this is only at first glance, because... everything is done simply, conveniently and accessible to any user. All possible settings for the resulting video file are taken into account. For ease of use, there are settings such as reserving disk space for a file, limiting recording time, and setting the frequency of captured frames.

An important feature is the ability to display dropped frames during capture. This is a kind of indicator of the capabilities of your machine. If this indicator is different from zero, then it would be a good idea to change the recording parameters to easier ones.

In order not to contemplate the comb on moving objects after recording, it is possible to connect a deinterlacing filter during recording.

The function for setting the video capture resolution has a rather interesting addition that allows you to crop the image along any of the four edges (or all at once) to a width specified in pixels. In general, you can capture video with a resolution from 80x60 to 768x576.

Naturally, you can configure the video and audio stream compression parameters if necessary. In addition, GoTView allows you to set a timer for a single entry by date and time.

The right side of the AVI field is reserved for volume and color level settings. And the bottom one shows processor load in real time.

WMV. For this type of settings, the settings are a little smaller. For example, there is no possibility of reserving disk space, there is no possibility of setting the frequency of captured frames, as well as settings for video and audio compression.

Sound. The meaning of the settings in this field, I think, is clear to everyone. It is worth noting that the interface has not changed compared to the video settings field. The sound can, of course, be recorded in MP3 with any settings.

In addition, sound can be recorded not only from FM broadcasts, but also from TV. There are situations when you don’t need a picture. No problem - write only audio!

Regarding audio and video capture, it’s worth adding one more thing. Encoding in real time, i.e. directly during capture, it can be performed using any of your codecs, which seriously expands the capabilities of the tuner.

Snapshot. Even in this field of settings, GoTView has much more options than its competitors. You can capture individual frames not only with any resolution possible for the tuner, but also in any of three graphic formats - JPG, BMP, GIF, and the compression quality JPG file configured manually.

There is also a great opportunity to set capture every N seconds during viewing.

Net. Well, this is completely new. The function is experimental, as evidenced by the red warning label. The manufacturer offers you to work with the tuner... over the network, i.e. capture video over the network. True, the recommended resolution is only 320x200, but it is recommended and not strictly limited.

Scheduler. Well, this is just a great thing for scheduling automatic recording of not only video, but also audio, as well as taking screenshots. In addition to standard actions, you can execute any command both before and after recording. The command is, of course, written on the appropriate command line.

TV programm. No less useful thing to download databases with programs for each channel. Well, everything seems to be clear here.

Channel listing. The last menu is for displaying a grid of 16 channels per page. Quite standard function. The only pity is that you cannot configure the location and number of channels shown manually.

Summing up the software, we can safely say that of the software supplied with tuners, this is the best. True, the manufacturer cheated a little - after all, in this case, high-quality alternative software for Fly DS TV tuners was taken as the basis. But in this case it is absolutely clear that its deepest processing has been done. Maybe it was the opportunity to create ideal software that became the reason for choosing the classic Conexant Fusion 878A chip.

The second disc with the software package from InterVideo is not only a full-fledged licensed copy, but also, in the best traditions of GoTView, the main program for creating home videos WinDVD Creator from the package is completely (including help) Russified, which makes the work of a beginner much easier.

It is most likely pointless to describe all the capabilities of WinDVR and WinDVD Creator, because... To do this, you will need a whole book dedicated to creating videos. One has only to mention that the package serves both for capturing and subsequent processing of video, is recognized all over the world and will certainly appeal to many.

Reception quality

Testing of the reception of TV and FM channels was carried out in two versions - with the connection of an external cable television and with the connection of the tuner to the indoor antenna. Test computer configuration: Athlon1200 processor, Soltek 75SL-75DRV2 motherboard, NVIDIA video card GeForce2 MX400, 256MB RAM, ESS 1969 sound, Windows XP SP1 operating system.

Having connected the cable to the tuner, naturally I had to search for channels again - the frequencies set by the manufacturer, of course, did not match. I did a search across the entire operating range in steps of 0.1 MHz (Well, 0.02 MHz is too steep). This process is not fast, so I managed to drink tea a couple of times during this time. But the result exceeded all expectations. Due to the small pitch, many duplicate channels were picked up, but the tuner caught the 17 channels that my TV receives with excellent quality. Almost nothing had to be adjusted.

Channel examples

Naturally, I immediately noticed an interlacing comb on all channels and hastened to get rid of it. Of the five deinterlacing modes, the most attractive was the second method from the list - Blend. Copying lines gives too rough a result, the errors of which are too noticeable when the image is stretched. The last two modes TwoFields and Weave (especially Weave) eliminate interlacing quite a bit. The Weave filter also produces good results, but the image quality after using it is noticeably worse than when using Blend. The Bob filter gives a result between the high-quality Blend and the rough Copy Strings.

Below you can look at footage of fast-moving skaters taken without deinterlacing and using the latter in all five filters. The sequence is as follows - no filter, Copy lines, Blend, Bob, TwoFields, Weave.

Also pay attention to the channel logo (the sequence of filter application is the same).

Well, it seems to me that real work filters are available.

After switching from cable to a simple indoor antenna, I didn’t have to configure anything - the channel grid from the manufacturer coincided perfectly with what actually exists. The reception quality was somewhat worse, but these are already the errors of my antenna (if you can even call it that). The TV doesn't pick it up any better.

The processor load when watching TV is clearly visible in the screenshots of the capture menu located above the text. When recording video, it was also not possible to load the test machine to capacity. That’s why all the test avi files were recorded without dropped frames or other glitches.

I was very pleased with the ability to download TV programs from the Internet. All you have to do is press the button, because... all necessary website addresses are already entered into the tuner database.

FM reception does not cause any complaints at all, because all the stations that I know in Moscow were caught clearly. Moreover, the reception was clear, even despite the position of the antenna. Well, in general, its length is quite enough to hang it anywhere.

Total

This is a serious bid for one of the leading positions in the TV tuner market. The capabilities of the device are simply amazing. In addition, the tuner is perfect for those who plan to frequently record TV programs. This tuner's software is simply impeccable - don't mess with it. An excellent dessert was a licensed disc with a package from InterVideo. The downside, of course, is the use of an outdated chipset, but without it, most likely, such almighty software would not exist. So I would like to wish the actively developing GOTVIEW to release a tuner on a modern chipset, but with the same software. The Conexant Fusion 878A chip still processes the signal of the most widespread SECAM standard in Russia, not in the best way - the colors are a little bit different. So five minus! By the way, at the company forum it was organized technical support online.

TV tuners GoTView PCI 7135 and GoTView PCI DVD

Maxim Babenkov

The Taiwanese company GOTVIEW specializes in the development and production of multimedia products and peripherals for desktop and laptop computers. The company's line of multimedia products includes devices for receiving television and radio signals on a computer TV-FM tuners, as well as TV tuners with additional features to capture and digitize images.

The company has been present on the Russian market for two years, but in such a short time it has already proven itself quite well, since its products are of high quality, well-equipped, functional software and fully adapted to the conditions of Russian television broadcasting.

In this article we will focus on just two internal models of GoTView TV tuners with a PCI interface: GoTView PCI 7135 and GoTView PCI DVD.

The first model of the TV tuner GoTView PCI 7135 is made on a purple PCB and has a gold-plated strip. This style is traditional for all TV tuners of the company.

The GoTView PCI 7135 model is built on a Philips SAA7135HL decoder. The bulk of the chip's radioelements are located in close proximity to it. The board contains several large and small capacitors (LC filters), which serve to eliminate interference arising from other elements inside the computer, as well as from power supply interference.

The Philips SAA7135HL video/audio decoder processes PAL/SECAM/NTSC signals and supports A2 and NICAM stereo broadcast formats. The decoder also provides advanced audio processing and allows audio to be digitized at sampling rates up to 48 kHz. In addition, the decoder supports various effects such as Virtual Dolby Surround and Dolby Surround Prologic.

The third generation Philips FM1216ME/I H-3 unit is used as a high-frequency block in GoTView PCI 7135, which supports PAL/SECAM/NTSC format signals in the frequency range from 48.25 to 855.25 MHz. Most modern TV tuners are equipped with a similar high-frequency unit.

The device allows you to implement traditional functions such as capturing video with sound, as well as receiving FM radio stations in stereo mode.

On the back of the GoTView PCI 7135 there are the following connectors: two antenna inputs (one for connecting a television antenna and the other for a radio antenna), a 2 mm connector for connecting an IR receiver, composite and S-Video video input, audio input and audio output. The strip with connectors, like in many other models of the company, has a golden color.

In addition to the traditional audio connectors on the rear panel, the GoTView PCI 7135 is additionally equipped with internal audio input and audio output connectors. These connectors are useful primarily when connecting a TV tuner to a sound card, which allows you to leave the external line input of the sound card free. Audio input and output connectors are located on the outside printed circuit board, which simplifies device switching. We emphasize that in some cases there is no need to connect via these connectors, since the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner also transmits sound via the PCI bus.

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner is equipped with a remote control, which, in addition to working with the TV tuner itself, allows you to control various multimedia applications. The presented remote control differs from the remote control that was included with previously released TV tuner models. Thus, the new remote control has an increased number of buttons and a more thoughtful placement of them, and in addition, the remote control buttons can be programmed using the utility supplied in the kit.

The GoTView PCI 7135 package includes a remote control with batteries, an IR receiver for remote control, an FM antenna, a mini-jackmini-jack audio cable and an audio cable for connecting the tuner's audio output to an external line-in input motherboard or sound card, user manual in Russian and two CDs with InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 video editor in Russian and GoTView PRO software.

GoTView PCI 7135 is one of the best TV tuners among similar models on the market today. A well-designed board using high-quality components provides excellent image and sound quality, and also allows reliable reception of various video signals.

The second of the TV tuner models under consideration, GoTView PCI DVD, differs from the first not only functionally, but also externally. The printed circuit board, as emphasized above, is also made in purple color, but in terms of size it is much inferior to the GoTView PCI 7135 card, especially in width.

The GoTView PCI DVD TV tuner is based on Philips SAA7174HL and CONEXANT CX23416 chips, which allows video capture and compression into MPEG format with a bit rate of up to 15 Mbit/s and an audio sampling rate of up to 48 kHz. PAL/SECAM/NTSC standards and A2 and NICAM stereo broadcast formats are supported. The main difference between the Philips SAA7174 decoder and the Philips SAA7135 is the absence of a PCI interface, the function of which in the TV tuner is performed by another chip CONEXANT CX23416. This chip serves as a hardware MPEG1/2 codec for video and audio streams. In addition, the CX23416 has a hardware noise reduction filter, which removes noise from the video image and increases the MPEG compression ratio. On the reverse side of the printed circuit board there is one HY57V643220CT-6 memory chip manufactured by Hynix Semiconductor, which serves as a buffer for the MPEG stream. The specifications of this chip are as follows: voltage 3.3 V, operating frequency 166 MHz, four banks of 512 Kbit each

for MPEG stream

The third generation Philips MK3 unit is used as a high-frequency block in GoTView PCI DVD, which supports PAL/SECAM/NTSC format signals in the frequency range from 48.25 to 855.25 MHz. Unlike the model described above, the GoTView PCI DVD TV tuner uses a high-frequency unit without an FM receiver Philips MK3 1216.

The main capabilities of the device include support for terrestrial and cable television, ample opportunities to search and configure channels, the ability to capture real-time video in MPEG-2 format with a resolution of up to 720×480, capture frames in various graphic formats etc. Other features of the GoTView PCI DVD model include high-quality image processing with noise reduction and deinterlacing filters with normal and double frequencies. I would especially like to note that the program uses the hardware capabilities of modern video cards to process images with deinterlacing filters, which can significantly reduce the CPU load.

On the back of the GoTView PCI DVD there is a composite video input, an IR receiver socket for the remote control, an antenna TV input,

S-Video input and audio input.

The traditional analog audio output is not implemented in this model at all, which, however, is not surprising. Sound transmission is carried out only via the PCI bus, as a result of which there is no need to equip the device with an audio cable to connect the tuner to the sound card. However, the GoTView PCI DVD includes another audio cable for connecting external sources, which has a mini-jack plug on one side and two RCA plugs on the other. This cable is convenient for connecting various video cameras and a VCR to the tuner.

The GoTView PCI DVD remote control is completely different from the first model. First of all, the remote control is very flat and equipped with a large number of buttons - their number reaches 37 pieces. In addition, the buttons are touch sensitive, which prevents dirt and dust from entering. Tactile sensations when pressing buttons allow you to accurately assess whether a key was actually pressed. In general, we can say that the remote control is compact, and in addition, it is lightweight and functional. Frequently used buttons for changing volume and switching channels are located very well on the remote control. The remote control is powered by a 3 V lithium cell.

In our opinion, the GoTView PCI DVD TV tuner can be considered the most simple solution for digitizing both television channels and video signals from a home video camera and VCR. The advantages of a TV tuner include the fact that during the digitization process a hardware noise reduction filter will be used, which will slightly improve the quality of the digitized signal.

An added benefit is that GoTView PCI DVD can run Windows MCE 2005, something that few tuner manufacturers currently boast. If you have two or three GoTView PCI DVD tuners in this OS, you can schedule multiple channels to be recorded simultaneously.

The GoTView PCI DVD package includes a remote control with a battery, an IR receiver for remote control, an FM antenna, and an audio cable for connecting various sources. sound signal(mini-jackRCA), user manual in Russian and two CDs with InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 video editor and GoTView PRO software.

Now let's briefly talk about the software that comes with both models of GoTView TV tuners and its functionality. The GoTView PRO 4.0.0.475 program has a number of interesting and unique functions, including, for example, PIP (picture in picture), which allows you to watch two channels simultaneously if you have a second tuner. The ability to separately record audio and video streams greatly facilitates and speeds up video editing, and also helps to avoid the use of additional software. Unique feature The program supports third-party Direct Show (DS) and DirectX Media Objects (DMO) filters, designed for additional image and sound processing.

The Motion Detection function allows you to use the device as a video surveillance system. To do this, just connect a video camera to the tuners, which will record the monitored area. With support for an unlimited number of skins appearance The program is quite easy to change.

Installing device drivers and software does not cause any difficulties, especially if you follow the installation sequence, as well as the recommendations specified in the user manual.

The main window of the GoTView PRO program contains buttons for switching TV channels, buttons for setting the reception frequency, a button for displaying all channels in a separate window that opens, a video capture button, a scheduler button, a button for updating the TV program via the Internet, and a settings button. There is also a display that displays various information, such as channel number, channel name, current time, audio mode, television standard and much more. The main window also contains sliders for setting the overall sound and separately for channel sound, brightness, contrast and saturation.

The software allows you to capture frames in BMP, JPEG and GIF formats with a resolution of up to 768x576, record audio and video streams with compression capabilities (for this, audio and video codecs must be installed in the system). Also supported various functions, such as channel preview and Time Shift the latter allows you to simultaneously record and playback video.

Of all the other features of the program, we note the functions used to configure the interface, video and audio signals, remote control buttons, display menus and indicators in windowed and full-screen modes, as well as to control the program using keyboard hot keys.

In general, we can say that the software shell has very rich functionality and currently is one of the best, perfectly complementing and realizing all the capabilities of the device’s hardware.

The editors express gratitude to GOTVIEW ( http://www.gotview.ru )for the provided TV tuners GoTView PCI 7135 and GoTView PCI DVD.

Revolutionary changes in the personal computer market are quite rare. The industry is developing gradually, acquiring more and more new qualities. This happens even somehow imperceptibly, on its own, but, looking back a few years, we notice how strikingly modern hardware and software differ from what we used quite recently. It would seem that what could change in the TV tuner market? But here, too, software, hardware and functionality are constantly evolving. GoTView tuners have always been famous for their well-designed drivers, high-quality and functional video capture, as well as the ability to transmit TV signals over local network. Not long ago we tested the GoTView PCI 7134 model, and today it has been replaced by the PCI 7135 TV tuner. Among the features of the new model, we highlight the new universally recognized Philips MK3 RF unit, which has best characteristics compared to TCL, which was used in the GoTView PCI 7134 model, as well as the Philips chip, the number of which is included in the model name. Has the tuner become better, what qualities has it acquired, is it very different from the previous model? We will try to answer all these questions below.

Equipment

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner comes in packaging that is typical for most products from this manufacturer. All the inscriptions on the box, as well as the documentation and software shell, are in Russian, which once again confirmed the manufacturer’s desire to fully adapt its products to the Russian market.

Inside the package we found the following kit:

• TV tuner board;
• T-shaped FM antenna;
• IR receiver;
• double-sided sticker for fixing the IR receiver;
• remote control;
• 2 AAA batteries;
• short audio cable for connecting to the linear input of a sound card;
• instructions in Russian;
• 2 discs with software

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner is compact and there are no problems when installing it in small cases. The board is limited by the size of the PCI slot, which is practically the norm in modern conditions.

The heart of the GoTView PCI 7135 is the Philips SAA7135HL chip, which provides advanced audio processing over the SAA7134 chip and earlier.

The 7135 model uses the original Philips MK3 RF unit, which is potentially capable of providing better reception quality compared to the 7134 model. Whether our expectations were met or not, we will tell you below.

As in the PCI 7134 model, the company uses high-capacity electrolytes with low internal resistance to minimize power supply noise, as well as a stabilizer designed to reduce voltage surges when powering the chip.

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner, like its predecessors, is equipped with audio connectors directly on the board, which is quite rare on models from other manufacturers. These connectors are necessary to directly connect the TV tuner to the sound card inside the PC, which will allow you to avoid using the external line input of the sound card. Note that these connectors are located on the outside of the printed circuit board, as a result the user does not need to remove the TV tuner to connect or disconnect cables. However, the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner can transmit sound not only using an external or internal cable, but also via the PCI bus. This means you won't need to connect it to your sound card.

The following connectors are located on the bar from left to right:

• connector for connecting an FM antenna;
• connector for connecting a TV antenna;
• connector for connecting an external IR receiver;
• S-Video input (four pins);
• audio input (mini-jack);
• composite video input;
• audio output.

According to established tradition, as test bench we used home media center Depo Ego following configuration:

• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz with 800 MHz bus;
• motherboard: MicroStar MS-6743;
• RAM: DDR400 512 MB;
• video card: Intel Extreme Graphics II, integrated on the board;
• sound card: Creative Audigy 2 ZS;
• HDD: Samsung 160 GB SATA;
• operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 installed and all updates from Windows Update.

After installing the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner into a free PCI slot and turning on the PC, Windows XP finds a new device. Driver installation is carried out using operating system. After installation, the following hardware appears in Device Manager.

Unfortunately, the software disk is not equipped with a startup mode and a shell, but the installation process is described in some detail in the instructions. After completing the installation of drivers and programs, it is advisable to restart the computer, but this is not at all necessary.

Previously, the laboratory site had already tested three internal TV tuners from GoTView. These were GoTView PCI , GoTView PCI 7134 And GoTView PCI DVD. The GoTView Pro software shell supplied with the company's tuners has not undergone significant changes, and therefore, in order not to repeat it, we recommend that you read our previous reviews.

GoTView Pro version number 3.0.0.449, supplied with the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner, implements new feature- "Motion detector", which allows you to use the TV tuner as an inexpensive video surveillance system. You simply connect a video camera to the tuner with a cable with two tulips, display it on the window, and you can record video of your car in the parking lot on a PC or watch the area in front of the house. Similar "security" features are now popular among other TV tuner manufacturers.

The software shell allows, if there is movement in the frame, to save individual frames, record video or sound on the hard drive for later viewing. We have already tested a similar possibility in TV tuner Behold TV 403 FM, but it is worth noting that the Beholder company specializes in creating hardware and software systems for access control and video surveillance and, accordingly, tried to implement this function in its TV tuners, while GoTView does not deal with video surveillance systems, but its implementation of the system seemed quite decent to us.

The motion detector function in the GoTView Pro software shell is implemented as follows: first, the user is asked to select the check interval and sensitivity, and then set the action when motion is detected in the frame and the action when motion is stopped. The difference from a similar function from Beholder is that the GoTView Pro software shell does not have a mask that allows you to split the image into zones in which tracking would be carried out. In some cases, this may limit the use of the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner as a video surveillance system, since the software shell will not allow you to cut off areas that are not necessary to monitor.

In general, we would like to note that GoTView has adequately implemented the motion detector function, and we are confident that this feature will be further developed in new versions of the software shells.

Picture and sound quality

A regular antenna is installed on the roof of the editorial office building, and the testing laboratory is the sole user of the signal from it. However, the geographical location of a small laboratory building leads to the fact that many channels “arrive” at the antenna with great interference. It’s all the more interesting for us to test tuners in less than ideal conditions.

I would especially like to note that the GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner demonstrated, in general, excellent image quality without any additional settings and the use of a noise reduction system. When viewing channels with average reception quality, the “noise” suppression function significantly improved image quality. On channels with poor reception quality, the “noise” suppression function also showed a good result, but as a result the image became more inertial, which led to a blurred picture when viewing dynamic scenes. Therefore, we do not recommend using maximum noise reduction modes unless absolutely necessary.

In the laboratory, the tuner was able to detect all 15 existing channels, which indicates the good sensitivity of the Philips MK3 selector. Note that a search using a standard frequency grid allowed us to detect only 6 channels. This allowed us to conclude that the channels in our antenna are not taken from the air, but are rebroadcast via cable. Therefore, a search was carried out across the network of broadcast and cable channels, which made it possible to detect 15 existing and 6 phantom channels.

Download video 2(5 MB)

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner comes with a new model of remote control. Compared to the remote control supplied with GoTView PCI and GoTView PCI 7134 TV tuners, the new remote control has a more thoughtful layout of buttons, as well as an increased number of them - 34 versus 30, which allows, for example, to control the delayed viewing function.

The remote control buttons can be programmed using the appropriate utility. In addition to actually working with the TV tuner, the remote control supports a number of popular applications: Microsoft Media Player, Zoom Player, BSPlayer and WinAmp. In fact, you have at your disposal remote control from the basic multimedia functions of a personal computer.

Conclusion

The GoTView PCI 7135 TV tuner is a worthy representative of the line of internal TV tuners GoTView. A well-designed board, the use of high-quality components, and the use of today's best RF unit from Philips MK3 in conjunction with the SAA7135 chip together allowed us to obtain excellent image and sound quality and reliable reception of radio stations. Rich functionality shell, which provides advanced capture and delayed viewing capabilities, seamlessly complements the sophisticated hardware. We also note the channel preview function and the ability to simultaneously operate two TV tuners in one system, which allows you to implement the “Picture in Picture” function.

The new year 2005 is still far away, but the new model year has already arrived, at least this is true for the GOTVIEW company, which presented to consumers a line of its new TV tuners on new chipsets with new characteristics and new capabilities.

This company, which recently appeared on the Russian market, was able in a year and a half not only to please consumers with its products, but also to turn into one of the leaders in the field of tuning.

In my opinion, three factors contributed to this - high-quality iron; the most functional and developed software with regular updates and not in words, but in fact, adapted for Russia (the only competitor for the included software for GOTVIEW can be considered the Beholder company); very responsive support, which not only answers all your questions in the forum on the company’s website, but also makes improvements to the software that correspond to your suggestions. Let’s hope that GOTVIEW will not depart from these “three pillars of success” in the 2005 model year, and the reason for checking has already appeared.

Today we will look at a new internal model of the tuner, in which GOTVIEW, judging by the brief specification, retained all the best that the company had developed during its existence, and also added a lot of new things. So, meet GoTView PCI DVD.

Equipment

Nothing has changed in the design of the packaging of the new tuners, and this is not necessary - so there is enough varied information written there, and the inscription “Adapted for Russian TV broadcasting” has not disappeared anywhere.

The kit contains the card itself, a brand new flat remote control, an external IR receiver, a minijack-RCA audio cable (2 connectors), quick guide installation instructions and a couple of CDs - with native software, drivers and full instructions for working in PDF format and with WinDVD Creator 2.0 from InterVideo.

Innovations in the element base

There have been some very serious changes here compared to the predecessors of this card. The fact is that the new TV tuner has become “double-headed”. It is based on two chips - new Philips SAA7174HL (leader change - 34th chip) and CONEXANT CX23416. Thanks to this, you can not only watch TV programs with the best quality for Russian SECAM and stereo sound in NICAM and A2, but also hardware compress the video stream on the fly into MPEG2 format.

The entire encoding process has now been transferred from the CPU to the hardware of the card, so digitization will occur without frame loss, desynchronization of audio and video streams and other glitches. But this, of course, only applies to MPEG2. For other recording formats, software codecs are used and the presence/absence of the above-described glitches rests on the conscience of the resources of your machine, in particular the processor.

Changes have occurred not only in the chips, but also in the RF unit. The channel selector has been changed - the old TCL has been replaced with MK3 - a selector with higher sensitivity and selectivity.

If we talk about the board layout, although there have been changes due to the advent of a new element base, the scheme for protecting the tuner from interference remains the same.

The board has acquired hardware (and not just software, available in new version supplied software) noise reduction filter. This function works both during recording and during normal viewing of a video stream and has five levels of adjustment.

But something has disappeared from the board - this is the FM block. According to the company's support, there will not be a version of this tuner with FM support. In principle, the board is really more intended for serious work with video (encoding, video processing and all that). On the other hand, there will probably be a number of dissatisfied users who will, for obvious reasons, like the board (as a TV tuner and MPEG encoder), but will be upset by the lack of an FM tuner.

Board appearance

As you can see, the shape of the board itself has changed. Instead of a wide PCB, the dimensions of which (namely the length) did not extend beyond the PCI bus, an elongated shape is now used, which slightly reminded me of some models of old tuners from other manufacturers. However, the GOTVIEW top style has not disappeared anywhere - burgundy varnish, golden panel with connectors, high quality workmanship.

This very golden panel contains: a low-frequency RCA input, a connector for connecting an external IR sensor, a socket for connecting an antenna, a composite S-Video input and a stereo audio input for a standard 3.5mm minijack.

Please note another significant change in the design - there is no longer an audio output on the board. Sound is now digitalized only in hardware and transmitted via PCI bus. And the maximum audio sampling frequency has increased from 32KHz (on boards with yesterday's leader SAA7134) to 48KHz. It is unlikely that you will ever need a large value of this parameter in your work. Well, a stereo audio cable from a minijack to a pair of RCA connectors is used to transmit sound not “from”, but “to” the tuner when capturing video from any other device, for example, from a video camera.

Hardware summary

In fact, this is a completely new tuner with new capabilities, but it was clearly created taking into account the experience of building previous hardware (for example, the same anti-interference circuit). The only downside is the lack of such a nice addition as an FM tuner. But on the other hand, this step strictly positions the card as, to some extent, a professional model among amateur video capture.

Remote control

Changes have occurred here too. The design of the remote control has been completely redesigned - there is not even a hint of that “pop” rounded shape that the remote control of earlier GOTVIEW models had. Now the style and design of the remote control fully matches the elite look of the tuner board itself.

No more brightly colored buttons - black, white, gray. Well, just a little red - it lightly marks three buttons (Power, Rec/Play and Rec) and the inscription “GOTVIEW”.

On one side, the remote control appears completely flat. But on the other hand, when you take it in your hand, you understand that everything here was done, so to speak, for the people. The thin case even has special grooves for your fingers on the back side! Thus, the remote control does not slip out of your hand. I’m scared to say this (true electronics lovers will throw stones).

If we talk about the convenience of pressing buttons, then I would like to draw a small parallel with that miniature flat control panel that many TV tuner manufacturers (or simply hangers of their labels on OEM hardware) really like to put in their kits today. I think you are familiar with him. So, in terms of the convenience of pressing the buttons, they are very similar - quite specific, but you quickly get used to it. But unlike that remote control, the GOTVIEW one has 37 control buttons, which are definitely enough for you to work comfortably.

All keys are conveniently located, i.e. The remote control panel is divided into certain zones, to which not only your eyes, but also your hands will quickly get used to.

But the most important difference between this remote control (or rather the software that comes with it) and most others is the reprogrammability of all keys. The list of possible functions that you can attach to each key is large - 93 functions.

I couldn’t find any cons for this remote control, so I can give it five points unconditionally.

Testing the tuner and working with software

Since the release of the GoTView PCI 7134 card, the main digits of the supplied software version number have not changed - 3.0. However, at that time this program had just been released (we have already written about its main differences from the 2nd version) and contained a number of minor defects, which were gradually found (with the help of a demanding user) and corrected (with the help of responsive support ), fortunately the forum on the company’s website greatly contributes to this.

The current version of the program supplied with the tuner has the index 3.0.0.441. In general, this version of the software has already become slightly outdated, because version 442 and beta 443 appeared on the site (these are changes that occurred in about twenty days). New versions have added a feature such as “motion detector”. Now a TV tuner together with a television camera can, for example, be used as a guard for your car, which is parked in the yard.

Main interface

There have been no fundamental changes since testing the first version of the program with index 3.0. Old skins of the program still display the volume control, rewind, Rec, Photo buttons, as well as a panel with image settings and the tuner itself.

The only thing that has been added is a new skin - Standard XP. I must say that it has a very specific look and not everyone will like it. For example, I generally prefer the old classic image of the program. There are now six skins in total, although two of them are simply enlarged copies of two more from the same six.

There is no point in talking about all the program settings in full - take a look at past reviews of GoTView tuners and you will be able to track both the evolution of hardware and the evolution of software. The 3rd version has already been sufficiently described in previous reviews of GoTView tuners, so it is useless to look for any fundamental innovations here - only light tuning of some functions and fixed minor buggies. As a result, we will not describe everything in detail, but will only briefly talk about the very capabilities of this program for those who are encountering GoTView for the first time.

Setting up channels

What distinguishes the software of this card from the rest is the presence of a detailed channel grid, where for each channel separately all adjustable parameters relating to the settings of the picture, sound, and broadcasting system are displayed. Please note that each of these parameters is adjustable on a per-channel basis. Here they are, the advantages of the tuner over a TV (and, by the way, most models of TV tuners from other manufacturers).

By default, your eyes will see the frequency grid of our broadcast that is familiar to Russians - 16 channels with their own names and (!) icons. You can set icons yourself to visually designate channels, just like channel names.

For those who do not have an antenna, but a cable, or simply have channels whose frequencies do not coincide with this grid, but lie in the range from 40 MHz to 800 MHz, you can use any of the proposed range scanning options. You can scan the grid automatically with automatic steps. Automatic search it is designed in such a way that an inexperienced user does not even have to think about it - click Next and the automation will do everything else for you.

For those who are not used to trusting electronics, a choice of search method, scanning range, step (minimum 0.02 MHz) and broadcast system is provided. In principle, it is not necessary to set the range - you can choose to scan the standard network of broadcast channels or the same method, only cable channels are added to the broadcast ones.

It’s simply impossible not to catch something! Moreover, the Russian-language software interface is intuitively easy to understand.

Tuner settings

By clicking on the Settings icon on the tuner panel, we get to a four-page interface. Here, compared to the earlier version of the software we reviewed earlier with the GoTView PCI tuner, there are some differences...

The "View" page contains all the settings related to viewing, images, filters, etc. (it would be strange if this were not the case).

First, some good old fashioned... Here you can choose from five types of filtering; set aspect ratio; play a video stream over the desktop; disable OverlayMixer; change the resolution during “simple” viewing and during full-screen viewing; You can even enlarge the image a little to remove edges with artifacts.

Now about what has been added... A choice of work priority has appeared; choosing a video renderer type; added software feature noise suppression with five operating modes (for our card this function is performed at the hardware level); it became possible to automatically select stereo sound.

But the changes to the “Interface” page were almost untouched (maybe because serious changes took place there earlier - during the transition from the 2nd version of the software to the 3rd (see review of the GoTView PCI 734 TV tuner). But the settings here are also without that is enough. Unlike many other tuners, using the device from GoTView is very convenient. Why? Yes, because this tuner will give you complete information on the screen about everything related to reception, display or recording.

Here you can also bring beauty, i.e. change the skin and font. Of the more or less significant innovations, it is worth noting only the display of the video standard on the screen.

Among the extremely useful (in my opinion) old features, I would like to note the function of blocking channel switching during capture. Well, we can’t forget about such functions as automatic frequency control, sound card control... you can’t list everything, and we agreed not to write about the old ones in detail here, because... already written.

"TimeShift". Not long ago, this tab appeared in GOTVIEW software, and therefore it is undergoing changes. If earlier it was too confusing and branched (the poor user was shuddering from all kinds of settings), today the situation has calmed down a little - all the settings (both video and audio) have somehow made room, grouped and are accessible directly from the same page.

In fact, time shifting is the temporary encoding of an audio and video stream if, say, you went away for half an hour to chat with a friend (girlfriend) and then watch a TV show with a time shift for this half an hour.

Our device encodes everything in MPEG2 on the fly, i.e. hardware, so you just have to tweak a few things (mere trifles - bitrate, resolution, etc.) and free up space on the drive.

Capture

This is the next icon, which is no less, but more interesting to us than all the others. After all, the specialization of our tuner is hardware encoding in MPEG2. It is noteworthy that of the six tabs, the first one here is MPEG (previously, its place was occupied by the page for encoding settings in the AVI format).

"MPEG". Just like in the time shifting settings, the “Video encoder settings” button has disappeared here - everything is now located directly on the main page. Naturally, you don’t choose any software encoder now. True, it’s a pity, but the possibility of cutting along the edges and the ability to pause (no, without Twix - the most common pause in a recording) have disappeared. This is again due to hardware encoding in MPEG.

But, along with setting the recording time, it became possible to set the maximum file size.

In general, the recording settings interface has the same appearance as in previous releases of the 3rd version of the program - the processor load graph is clearly shown below, and the picture settings are on the right. True, another one has been added to the processor load graph - the screw load graph!

"AVI". The only innovation in the settings of this format is the possibility of resizing. Everything else is old. Yes, actually, what else can you come up with - connecting deinterlacing filtering, setting recording time, frame rate, resolution, quality, codec.

And of course, unlike the MPEG format, here you will have access to both cropping and the Pause button.

But it is important not only to set it up correctly, but also to keep the situation under control. Therefore, all the necessary information about the recording is displayed on the screen.

"WMV". There have been no changes here at all, and what is there to change - there are significantly fewer settings here.

"Sound". The peculiarity of this software is that you can use not only your own video codecs from the system, but also audio codecs. In addition, you can record only sound without video from any channel received by the tuner, or simply from the incoming information stream.

"Snapshot." Also nothing new - capturing individual frames in JPG, BMP, GIF.

"Net". The inscription "Experimental function!" It hasn’t disappeared anywhere, it’s still hanging (it’s been there since the 2nd version), which means it’s still being finalized. This function is used to implement the ability to broadcast TV shows over a local network.

TV programm

A super function that saves all progressive humanity from buying newspapers and magazines, and also helps humanity itself maintain total (automatic at will) control over the broadcast time of current and future programs on all channels!

The principle of operation is elementary - the program itself connects to the desired server, downloads a small file (there will be no problems even on the most rotten dialup - tested) and that’s it. Now on each channel, immediately after switching on, the name of the program and the time it was broadcast are automatically displayed - convenient, however.)

Scheduler

Now that you have a program, you specify an action - "capture", which is recorded in the Scheduler. The program itself will start recording at the right time.

You can set tasks manually, of course, indicating the time and action (see screenshot).

Summary of software functionality

This is such a multifaceted (without exaggeration) software of GoTView tuners, in particular GoTView PCI DVD. Let me remind you that this software is also suitable for other models of GoTView TV tuners - this is a very big plus. Perhaps even this is the secret of such multifunctionality of this program - programmers do not need to develop and improve software for each tuner separately, it is easier to do this for all at once. Although, who knows - I’m not a programmer...

Be that as it may, you can only give GOTVIEW software an A+ and it has never been different.

Reception quality

Both the software and the reception quality of GoTView hardware have always been excellent. Our test configuration systems: Athlon1200 processor, Soltek 75SL-75DRV2 motherboard, NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 video card, 256MB RAM, ESS 1969 sound, Windows XP SP1 operating system. The channel reception was tested using a collective antenna. The frequency grid from the software package did not cause any failures - all 16 channels were detected with excellent reception quality and high clarity.

The quality of deinterlacing filters has already been tested in previous reviews - there have been no changes here. Blend and Bob showed themselves to be the best (Bob's picture is a little rougher).

The MPEG encoder also performed excellently. Well, of course - there are no dropped frames, there is no mismatch between audio and video, the load on the system is zero. Speaking of load...

System Load

With deinterlacing filters connected, the load does not exceed 65-70% - good performance for such an old machine. When encoding in MPEG2, the load on the CPU is significantly lower, although the capture is carried out in maximum resolution, because all problems fall on CONEXANT's head.

Results

GoTView PCI DVD is a high-quality multifunctional capture card with TV tuner capability, based on the latest chipsets and accompanied by the latest and most powerful package of constantly updated software.

The only complaint that can be made to this card may be the lack of an FM tuner that is needed by so many. On the other hand, as I already said, this is a more professional model. The price for a new card is 125 USD.