Introduction

Compro Technology are well known as a leading manufacturer of PC-TV, digital audio/video, and IP Security products for the IT and consumer markets. Being operational since 1988 Compro Technologies have made a good name for themselves in the media centre market with the high quality TV tuners they produce. Today we take a look at one of their latest offerings the VideoMate E750 which boasts dual DVB-T tuners in a low profile PCB.

Digital TV tuners for PCs have come a long way since their inception a few decades back. The first TV tuner I owned was one of the earliest releases of the ATI All In Wonder models and things have certainly come a long way since. One of the main aspects that puts the Compro VideoMate E750 out on top of the competition is that it includes two DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial) tuners which allows you to watch 2 main channels simultaneously. Through this you could for example watch one channel live while record another channel in the background for later viewing. Furthermore it comes with a certified Windows Media Center remote control giving you a lot of flexibility in controlling your media centre PC.

Lets take a quick peak at the unit's features and specifications before going into more details of the VideoMate E750.

Features

• Dual DVB-T digital terrestrial TV reception
• Bundle with Windows Media Center remote to control Windows Media Center and ComproDTV
• ComproDTV software with Vista/7 Gadget and Windows Media Center schedule recording list integration
• S5/S4/S3 mode Power Up Scheduled Recording
• Convenient Remote Controlled Power On/Off
• Support SDTV, H.264 and 1080i HDTV (where available)
• Timeshift for the instant replay and pause live TV
• Advanced PIP/POP features can open up to 2 main channel, 3 sub channel windows and also playback 1 recorded video files at the same time
• Video Desktop can stream live TV shows as wallpaper
• Single/sequential still frame captures and remote snapshot
• Supports H.264, MPEG-2 and Transport Stream record/playback
• Digital TV support EPG, subtitle, & Teletext (where available, not support MHEG-5 in UK)
• Certified for Windows 7 32/64Bit

• CPU
  - P4 2.0 GHz for TV viewing, DVD-quality recording
  - P4 3.0 GHz(SSE 2) for HDTV/TS viewing/recording
  - Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz(SSE 2) for 6 windows PIP/POP
• Memory: 512 MB (1GB recommended)
• Available PCI Express x1 slot
• CD drive for software installation
• Sound card or on-board sound chip
• Graphics Card or on-board graphics supports DirectX 9
• ATX power
• 2-pin power switch connector from system case
• OS: Windows XP SP3, Vista SP1, Win 7 x86/x64
• Digital TV antenna

Personally I would recommend at least 2GB of RAM and a decent graphics card to go with the above setup so that you enjoy the best possible experience without any lags. Considering modern day PC setups, the actual hardware requirement is very modest.

Okay now that's out of the way lets take a closer look at the Compro VideoMate E750