Though, this may not be the correct category for this review but let me tell you this is the closest category, I could found. I have sent a request to MouthShut for creating a new category for this upcoming hardware device.As I have been searching for the right category to post this review, India already made a quick exit, so let me tell you I wrote this review just before India’s exit from World Cup.
(Background -This review is a direct consequence of Cricket World Cup 2007. As with all cricket fans, I too was more than excited to watch the world cup live. But unfortunately, I do not have a TV. I was not sure what I was going to do for the coming World Cup. Buying a TV would mean at least 7, 000 to 10, 000 Rupees expense. Honestly, I was not willing to spend this much because I am not the person who would be spending too much time with TV except on special occasions like World Cup, also I did not have that much finances to buy a TV at this time. March has just gone so you people can easily understand the economic situation of a salaried person.
Looked for options - But I was also determined at the same time. As the World Cup began, I tried to come up with some alternatives and finally zeroed onto TV Tuner Card. A TV Tuner Card is a small electronic device which can take TV Cable Line as an Input and send its Output to your Desktop Monitor. In simple terms your Monitor just starts acting like a TV. Since I already had a Desktop, that was quite a feasible option. But I did not know much about TV Tuner Cards.
So I started my research and found out that there are two options. One is Internal and other is External. Internal is attached to the Mother Board of your Computer just like a LAN Card and you can also record the TV Programs onto your Computer Hard Disk. But I was told that at times its hard to configure and at times it may not be compatible to your Mother Board. For External, it would look similar to an external modem and it would work even when your Computer Processor is not working, that means you just need your Monitor and this External Card to watch TV, and of course a Cable Connection.
Option I took -Since, I did not want to take any chances I settled for an External TV Tuner Adapter from Frontech. The package included one TV Tuner Adapter, Remote Controller. Power Cable, One Display Cable connecting this Adapter to Monitor. One Audio Cable. It turned out to be extremely easy to install, it also has a Manual and in case you are confused, read the Manual which is to the point and not like those thick Manuals which are generally good for nothing.
Setup Details -For me it did not take more than 5 minutes for the whole setup. You just plug-in the one end of Display Cable to your Monitor and the other end to Adpater. Plug-in your desktop speakers into the audio socket of this Adpater. Plug-in your Cable Connection into the Adapter and finally the Power Cable. Switch on the Adapter and Monitor, use the Remote for Channel Scan. Within a minute it will scan all channels and thats it.Further, if you think that you need to remove all the cables when you wish to use your Monitor with Computer and then again plug the cables in when you wish to watch TV. Its not that way.
You can just flip between TV and Computer with push of a remote button. For that all you need to do is: Existing display cable of your Monitor will connect to one video socket of this Adapter and the display cable which came along with this Adapter will connect the other video socket of this Adapter to your CPU Cabinate. Same goes for the Audio Cable. And then when you switch on the Adapter, it will show a Green light that means your TV is connected. When you switch off the Adpater, it will show a Red light and that means your Computer is connected, just use your Desktop Computer as you used to do earlier.
My Verdict -If your Cable Provider is providing you with good service than trust me this Adapter provides you with great quality picture and sound. Once this set up is complete, it would act as a normal TV. Take the remote and relax on your couch / bed whatever and enjoy your movies / serials / documentaries .
All in all, I am extremely satisfied with this product. Because of the following reasons -
Value for Money
Convenient to install
Convenient to use
It has cost me 1000 Rs for Frontech Brand. I came to know that Pinnacle is also a famous Brand and generally considered to be of better quality. So if you are looking for an economic alternative to TV, this may be an option. If you need any further information, do let me know, I would be glad to share that with you.