Standard Definition Video
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: pinnacle, hd, pro, stick
- 5. Testing
- 6. Standard Definition Video
- 7. Conclusion
6. Standard Definition Video
| File Type | Functional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| MPEG2 | X | |
| Quicktime | ? | I tested four similarly-encoded .MOV files-strangely, one out of the four played fine, while the rest produced an error. |
| WMV | X | |
| DivX | ? | SD DivX would not play, but HD DivX played without trouble. |
| AVI | X | |
| VOB | X | |
| MPEG1 | X | |
| Xvid | All of my Xvid Test Files failed to play. | |
| OGM | All of my OGM test files failed to play. | |
| Real (RM) | X | |
| DVR-MS (Windows MCE recordings) | ? | Played, but the video was distorted and the color was completely off. (It had a bright green tint.) |
High Definition Video
| File Type | Functional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| .TS (HD MPEG2) 1080i | Player froze | |
| .TP (HD MPEG2) 1080i | Player froze | |
| WMV-HD 720P-1080P | X | |
| DivX-HD 720P-1080P | X | |
| Quicktime HD 720P-1080P | Quicktime videos were the only files that actually gave me an error, instead of merely causing the player to freeze. |
Audio
| File Type | Functional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| WAV | Audio did not play | |
| WMA | Audio did not play | |
| MP3 | Audio did not play | |
| OGG | Audio did not play | |
| M4A (AAC) | Audio did not play | |
| M4A (Apple Lossless) | Audio did not play | |
| AIFF | X |
Media Center Compatibility
Those who have used Windows Media Center before know how finicky it can be when it comes to accepting TV tuners, especially ones that are considered "software-based". Given that, I was surprised to discover that the installation went flawlessly. Windows Media Center recognized the Pro Stick, and I was recording HD broadcasts in no time. As I used the Pro Stick with Windows Media Center, all of the trouble that I experienced with the Pinnacle Media Center washed away, and I went back to thinking happy thoughts about the Pro Stick.
Test recordings were jitter-free, time shifting worked fine, and I didn't have to scratch my head over scheduling a recording. Windows Media Center compatibility is good news for people who purchased a PC with the MCE operating system but did not get a TV tuner to go with it. The Pro Stick can give you TV recording capabilities almost instantly.
The laptop that I used for testing met all of the hardware requirements, except that the CPU was a Celeron instead of a P4. I found that Pinnacle wasn't kidding about the minimum hardware needed, however-I wouldn't try to install a Pro Stick on an older laptop hoping that Pinnacle exaggerated the system requirements. Also, don't expect to be able to use your laptop's integrated graphics processor to balance out a CPU deficiency either-GPU acceleration did not work at all with the ATI Radeon 9000 integrated graphics processor in my laptop.
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- Next page Conclusion
Thanks for the heads up re: the PMC. I took your suggestion and have downloaded MediaPortal's 0.2.3.0 version. I'll be ordering the Pro Stick next.
I cannot get this thing to work with MediaPortal. Still working on finding a solution, but MP doesn't find the device.
Interestingly, it is Mac-compatible with EyeTV.
Thanks for the write-up.