Avid Technology’s consumer division, Pinnacle Systems, is extending its PCTV line of TV tuners. Expected to reach store shelves in mid-October 2007, the newest additions to the PCTV family are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of consumers with three products — the Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick, a USB 2.0 TV tuner stick that provides plug-and-watch TV viewing on a PC without any installation; the Pinnacle PCTV HD Card, an HDTV tuner card that includes support for FM radio; and the Pinnacle PCTV Remote Kit for Windows Media Center. Like all Pinnacle PCTV HD TV Tuners, the new TV tuner products provide consumers with the ability to capture, view, record and playback high-quality HD and SD TV.
With the increased amount of HD content available, the market for robust TV tuners that will let consumers watch HDTV on a PC is growing rapidly. According to estimates by research analysts at In-Stat/MDR, worldwide sales of PC TV tuners will increase from approximately 15.8 million in 2006 to 50.8 million in 2011.
The PCTV HD Ultimate Stick comes pre-installed with Pinnacle TVCenter Pro, a complete PVR application, and FlashPVR, a technology that allows TVCenter Pro software to run from the stick's on-board flash memory. Users can automatically record TV shows to the integrated flash memory or to their hard drive in a broad range of formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4 (optimized for iPod or PSP), DivX or direct to DVD. The PCTV HD Ultimate Stick includes a high-gain telescopic antenna, a remote control and Pinnacle Studio QuickStart for trimming captured videos.
The PCTV HD Card is designed for desktop PC users who want to add SD and HD TV to their PC using an internal PCI card and includes a remote control for easy navigation and an FM radio antenna, as well as Pinnacle Studio QuickStart.
The PCTV Remote Kit for Windows Media Center is an add-on for Windows Vista-powered PCs. If the user's PC is equipped with a Vista-certified TV tuner, the PCTV Remote Kit can be used to control all TV and PVR functionalities of Windows Media Center from across the room. The included IR blaster also allows Windows Media Center to control a satellite, DVB-T or cable set-top box.
For more information, visit www.pinnaclesys.com and www.avid.com.
