Product:	AVerMedia Hybrid Volar HX
Date:	09/05/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Recording, pausing live TV, good quality ariel.

Disadvantages: Bundled software is useless.

I used to think that there was no way to easily digitally record TV, the only options being Sky+ and expensive recorders. It turned out that I was wrong. Cue the AverMedia Volar X! 

The Good: 

What you get in the box is the USB input device, the antenna (with cable) and the installation CD. Installation was easy, all the drivers were included, so no problem there. 

The real beauty of this product starts when you first watch some live TV- it is very exciting, I felt like a small child when BBC1 first came on my computer screen! 

I thought that there was no way that this could be as good as Sky+, but I was wrong again. You can record selected programmes, decide to get the whole series, and best of all, pause live TV. This is very useful, although I was hesitant at first, I now pause all the time- a great thing about this is that you can later skip the ad break! Also, the device can take up to HD resolution (although there are not HD channels on freeview) 

The Bad: 

The included software is poor. It is glitchy, cheap-looking and does not work properly. Luckily, you can integrate the receiver with windows media center, which works much better. 

Overall, this is a brilliant peripheral for your computer or laptop. It turns your machine into a full media center and offers all the recording capabilities of Sky+ for a fraction of the price.

Summary: A definite buy for laptop owners, keep your favorite TV shows for as long as you want.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Installation:
Features: