BIOS: Technology Means Business

Terratec's latest multimedia peripheral lets you receive digital terrestrial TV broadcasts (DVB-T) on your desktop computer or laptop. The diminutive external tuner is barely bigger than a matchbox (74.5x50x23mm, 75g), connects to your computer via USB 2.0 and lets you receive digital TV (DVB-T) via the supplied portable antenna. However, for the best image quality you'll need to connect a decent rooftop or loft aerial to the 75Ohm antenna. Image quality is only as good as the received reception, but support for time-shifting, an EPG and bundled DVD tools make the Cinergy T² a relatively good value offering for watching TV on the go.

Pros: Antenna and remote; USB powered; EPG and time-shifting
Cons: Windows only; time-shifting requires lots of hard disk space

In addition to being one of the smallest devices of its type, the Cinergy T² is powered by your computer's USB port so you don't have to carry around an external AC adapter. Having said that, the supplied remote control does require two AAA batteries (supplied). You also get time-delayed television and EPG-controlled video recording options, as well as software to archive recordings onto CD or DVD media (Ulead System's MovieFactory 3 TV) and playback DVD-Movies (Cyberlink PowerDVD 5.0). There's DVB Teletext with FastIndexing, too.

The Cinergy T² receives TV signals via the external antenna which features a magnetic foot that allows it to be positioned almost anywhere. For use in a more permanent, stationary application, you can connect a conventional cord to the antenna input. The Cinergy T² is really easy to install and in a matter of minutes you should be able to enjoy the benefits of digital television on your PC, such as time-shifting for interrupting live programs and resuming later at the same place and an EPG facility that provides information on current programming, enabling you to plan recording schedules over several days.

Of course, you'll also be able to watch Freeview channels in the UK - as long as you are in a Freeview area. What this actually means is that you can access over 16 channels compared to the standard five channels. While Freeview coverage is growing, it's not available nationwide just yet, so it's worth bearing in mind before you opt for a package of this type. You should also note that the Cinergy T² requires a USB 2.0 to operate - video won't playback on older, slower USB 1.1 connections.

Other issues include the lack of support for HDTV/AC3 playback and subtitling teletext, and you can't scan for scrambled programs. In addition, the device only supports real-time MPEG-2 compression, so you can rule out recording to AVI, DivX or VCD. Connectivity options are also lacking, such as S-Video, composite video or stereo audio line-out, so you can't route to external A/V devices. Finally, there's no built-in Dolby Digital audio decoder (AC3).

Ulead Systems' DVD MovieFactory 3 is a simple and fun way to make DVD-Movies. In addition to burning recorded TV broadcast to disc, you can transform video from a camcorder or VHS tape to a distributable CDs or DVDs with just a few clicks.

Built-in video and slideshow editing features and fully customisable motion menus makes it simple to create basic DVD-Movies, but you can forget about high-end features such as the ability to output in DivX and MPEG-4 formats, add pan and zoom effects to images, create multiple animated titles, and add Picture-in-Picture (PiP) effects. Nevertheless, the software is a welcome addition that will find favour will video newbies.

PowerDVD 5 is one of the most popular DVD software players. Although it's not the latest version of the software, it comes with excellent video and audio technologies to help deliver the highest quality viewing and listening experience, and offers a relatively feature-rich array of navigation controls.

Overall, the Cinergy T² is a relatively low-cost and portable solution for watching digital TV broadcasts on the move. You'll probably find a lot of time tweaking the software's settings and moving the aerial to get the best reception, but most other devices have the same 'problem' in terms of a lack of decent mobile reception.