BIOS: Technology Means Business

Hauppauge’s latest product delivers low-cost digital TV anywhere on a laptop.

The Nova-t Stick (£49.99), like many products before it, allows laptop owners to watch live, digital TV, anywhere. Hauppauge even supplies a ‘high-performance’ portable aerial and includes the latest high-gain silicon tuner technology for improved Freeview reception.

Installation of the Nova-t Stick promises to be simplicity itself. The tiny device plugs into a spare USB socket on a laptop or desktop PC, and a TV aerial. The supplied software scans for Freeview TV channels, with up to 40 digital channels in much of the UK. Once installed you can watch TV in a resizable window, or full screen. Digital radio is also provided.

The Nova-t Stick should be ideal for TV on the move, particularly with the World Cup coming up. You could have the device plugged into your desktop PC at home, then simply unplug it and take it with you and your laptop. It’s the perfect solution for those times you know you won’t be able to get home for a match, but can find a quiet corner in the office to use the laptop instead.

Available immediately from high street and online retailers, the Nova-t stick is HDTV compliant (the BBC is trialling HD broadcasts on Freeview at present). The included software allows you to schedule and record live TV to the PC’s hard disk drive for later playback, or to burn to DVD (approx 1.6GB per hour).

The unit comes with a 2-year warranty and includes Hauppauge's WinTV software on CD, for viewing and recording programmes. To run the puppy you’ll need Windows XP, a spare USB 2.0 socket, sound card and speakers, graphics with Direct Draw support, and a television licence.

[Best TV Tuner Pricing UK]
[Best TV Tuner Pricing US]

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