4. Software

The Pro Stick comes bundled with Pinnacle Media Center (PMC), which is designed to play and record TV programming, Internet radio, and other types of media files.

Pinnacle Media Center System Requirements:

Windows XP SP2 (for SDTV) Pentium 4 2.4 GHz, Pentium M 1.3 GHz, or Athlon 64 Processor (for HDTV) Pentium 4 2.8 GHz, Pentium M 1.7 GHz or equivalent Athlon 64 Processor 256 MB RAM Free USB port Sound and Graphics with support for DX9 20 GB HDD space (for TV recording) Optical Drive.

Unfortunately, using the Pinnacle Media Center (PMC) software made my warm fuzzy feelings about the Pro Stick begin to go cold. If I needed to describe the PMC in one word, I think I'd have trouble deciding between "unimpressive" and "frustrating". Pinnacle would have been better off to develop a simple TV viewer similar to the one that ships with Dvico Fusion tuner cards, rather than attempt a full Media Center. As it is, the PMC is the least user-friendly media center software that I have ever used. Fortunately, the Pro Stick works well with other media center programs, so you are not stuck with the PMC if you decide it's not for you.

So, what's wrong with the Pinnacle Media Center? First, it is not a 10 foot user interface, which means that it's not intended to be used in a traditional TV watching environment. 10 foot user interfaces have large and simple menus and buttons that are meant to be used from about 10 feet away via remote. If you're looking to use the Pro Stick in an HTPC, plan on using a different software solution.

The PMC is capable of displaying program guide information (TV guide info). Unfortunately, unlike many popular Media Center programs that provide TV listings for free, PMC only gives you an 11-month trial to access the Pinnacle program guide. After your time is up, you must begin paying a subscription fee to continue using it. I visited the subscription page on Pinnacle's website and was told to finish my trial subscription before attempting to subscribe. The page did not contain any information regarding the subscription cost after my 11 months were complete.

Beyond the potential cost issue, the program guide is confusing and underdeveloped. Instead of structuring the TV information into a grid like every other program guide that I have ever used, it organizes it into a series of long lists. Program info can be viewed by "time" or by channel; the "time" option displays a list of times in non-standard intervals such as "00:02, and 00:05." Also, unless you recently spent some time in boot camp, you might need to spend a minute becoming accustomed to converting military time into civilian time as you browse through the listings.

The program listings can also be displayed by channel, but you can only view one channel at a time. Advanced recording options such as "record entire series" and dynamic file quality controls are conspicuously absent; even worse, there is no search function at all.

Non-standard time intervals, military time, and the inability to search make the program guide frustrating to use.