Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe
Written by Brian Bohnert on 5/6/2005 for
PC
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Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe
A while ago we took a look at Leadtek’s WinFast USB TV product. It’s a good product for the fact that it’s portable and you can add TV to a PC without having to open up the computer. Well, Leadtek’s got a new version out and today we look at the Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe
The Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe’s design has changed dramatically from the previous version. The main unit is now a small white box with inputs in various edges. It takes up a very small footprint but has plenty of inputs on the box. One side features two coaxial plugs for television and a connection to an antenna for radio reception. The main USB plug that connects to the computer is on this side as well as the power button. I definitely like the design over the previous purple box that was the first version. The smaller footprint is a welcome plus and the white box is more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
This unit also acts as a USB hub with three extra USB ports. The ports are separated to one extra on the audio connection side and two more on the side with the S-Video and composite connections. This is pretty helpful if you’re low on USB ports and need a few extra for various peripherals you might have. A nice touch is that the USB ports continue working even when you turn the unit off. I know I’ve had many times where I had a Jump Drive connected and turned off the unit, which thankfully kept the USB connection and prevented me from losing any data.
Because Leadtek was trying to keep it small, there are no RCA audio jacks and they are replaced with 1/8” or headphone jacks. You’ll have to run up to a local Radio Shack or electronics store if you want to hook this product up to a receiver though. Both the audio in and audio out connections are this way. I would’ve liked to have seen RCA jacks here perhaps at a loss of the one USB port. It’s not a deal breaker but I think it would’ve been more convenient.
The bottom of the unit has four soft pads to lay the unit down safely and vents to help cool the unit. Leadtek’s kind enough to label all the connections on the bottom of the unit as well. That way you won’t get confused as to what is what and everything is clearly marked.
The one thing I always hated about power supplies and plugs are those brick plugs in many electronic devices. The WinFast TV USB II Deluxe has this medium sized brick plug that can take up a lot of space on a power strip or wall. It doesn’t take up as much room as the traditional brick ones you’re used to but it’s still a little larger than I would like.
Included in the package is a small carrying case so you can protect the product if you decide to take it around with you. It’s actually a very nice carrying case with plenty of room for cables and the unit. There are two pockets and a divider included to separate the big pocket. It’s got a little padding to help protect the product. And something that’s included in the bundle that I was a little surprised was a remote. It’s not a full feature remote but it will control the basics nevertheless. This way you if you are watching TV on your computer or if it’s hooked up to a TV unit, you can use the remote to change the channel and not need a keyboard or mouse near you. I’m not a fan of credit card remotes like the one included but it does fit the portability factor that the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe is made for. You can technically get another learning remote to replace the credit card sized one if you would like.When a card with FM capability includes an antenna, it’s usually a wired one that you can hang. Leadtek has gone and included a metal antenna here that can be rotated and tilted. It’s the first product that I’ve reviewed that includes an antenna like this. The problem is though mine was very brittle. A few movements and the antenna broke off the plug and I was left with useless plug. I didn’t even put much stress on the antenna and it snapped off. It’s a good thing I had a few wire antennas laying around, but Leadtek should look at shoring up the metal connection of the antenna to the connector so that this doesn’t happen.
Connection to the computer is done via the USB cable but the included cable had a few problems. For starters, the cable is a little short. I would’ve liked to have seen a longer cable included so you don’t have to place the unit so close to the computer. Also, and this could be more of the plug design on the unit, it’s a little too easy to wiggle the plug loose. It’s definitely too loose for my taste and I’ve had a few devices with strong holds on the USB cord with the smaller plug in the Dell DJ and a few of my Sony cameras.
Installation went ok and as with other pieces of hardware, I highly suggest you go to the website first to see if there’s a newer version. I didn’t have problems installing the drivers for the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe. The software was a little flaky on one of my machines though as it would reset the computer with the unit plugged in. And on one other machine, the FM sound would be garbled after I plugged it in. It took me a few tries of unplugging and re-plugging it in for the FM to come in clearly.
The WinFast DVR program hasn’t changed much and it’s not bad. Although I do like the GUI’s of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Snapstream’s BeyondTV, the WinFast DVR interface is clean with a futuristic look and feel. The FM control panel looks the same as the TV one so you won’t be confused in when you switch between the two. Like ATI’s Multimedia Center, you can specify the quality and format of your recordings. You can also tweak the picture quality in saturation, color, hue, brightness, sharpness, and contrast. For those that like to archive to a disc format, you can even burn directly to a DVD or create a VCD. There are plenty of options here and the WinFast DVR program offers a good deal of flexibility to improve your multimedia experience.
Performance was acceptable with around a 40% CPU usage with my test computer consisting of an AMD64 3200+ with 512MB of ram and an ATI X800XT video card. Picture quality was pretty good and kept up with quick action such as basketball games pretty well. I did notice a stutter or two but not enough to really be annoying. Other than that the color and sharpness of the image were along the lines of other non-hardware encoded cards.
For FM, the WinFast USB II Deluxe also provided great performance provided you have good reception of course. When I positioned the antennae correctly, I received clear and loud audio from my local radio stations. I found myself using the FM tuner a lot more than I thought I would while I worked on articles. Task manager also showed that the CPU usage when using FM was 1-2%, which means you can use this to listen to the radio and know that it won’t take up a very minute portion of your CPU.
It’s not that inexpensive but it isn’t a huge improvement over their last USB TV device. For those on the go or need a portable TV and radio solution, the WinFast USB II Deluxe will give you those needs. You can easily turn any PC into a DVR solution with this product and get some good performance out of it. I do like the changes done to the main unit and even with some of the problems I had, once it was running it worked well.
The Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe’s design has changed dramatically from the previous version. The main unit is now a small white box with inputs in various edges. It takes up a very small footprint but has plenty of inputs on the box. One side features two coaxial plugs for television and a connection to an antenna for radio reception. The main USB plug that connects to the computer is on this side as well as the power button. I definitely like the design over the previous purple box that was the first version. The smaller footprint is a welcome plus and the white box is more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.
This unit also acts as a USB hub with three extra USB ports. The ports are separated to one extra on the audio connection side and two more on the side with the S-Video and composite connections. This is pretty helpful if you’re low on USB ports and need a few extra for various peripherals you might have. A nice touch is that the USB ports continue working even when you turn the unit off. I know I’ve had many times where I had a Jump Drive connected and turned off the unit, which thankfully kept the USB connection and prevented me from losing any data.
Because Leadtek was trying to keep it small, there are no RCA audio jacks and they are replaced with 1/8” or headphone jacks. You’ll have to run up to a local Radio Shack or electronics store if you want to hook this product up to a receiver though. Both the audio in and audio out connections are this way. I would’ve liked to have seen RCA jacks here perhaps at a loss of the one USB port. It’s not a deal breaker but I think it would’ve been more convenient.
The bottom of the unit has four soft pads to lay the unit down safely and vents to help cool the unit. Leadtek’s kind enough to label all the connections on the bottom of the unit as well. That way you won’t get confused as to what is what and everything is clearly marked.
The one thing I always hated about power supplies and plugs are those brick plugs in many electronic devices. The WinFast TV USB II Deluxe has this medium sized brick plug that can take up a lot of space on a power strip or wall. It doesn’t take up as much room as the traditional brick ones you’re used to but it’s still a little larger than I would like.
Included in the package is a small carrying case so you can protect the product if you decide to take it around with you. It’s actually a very nice carrying case with plenty of room for cables and the unit. There are two pockets and a divider included to separate the big pocket. It’s got a little padding to help protect the product. And something that’s included in the bundle that I was a little surprised was a remote. It’s not a full feature remote but it will control the basics nevertheless. This way you if you are watching TV on your computer or if it’s hooked up to a TV unit, you can use the remote to change the channel and not need a keyboard or mouse near you. I’m not a fan of credit card remotes like the one included but it does fit the portability factor that the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe is made for. You can technically get another learning remote to replace the credit card sized one if you would like.When a card with FM capability includes an antenna, it’s usually a wired one that you can hang. Leadtek has gone and included a metal antenna here that can be rotated and tilted. It’s the first product that I’ve reviewed that includes an antenna like this. The problem is though mine was very brittle. A few movements and the antenna broke off the plug and I was left with useless plug. I didn’t even put much stress on the antenna and it snapped off. It’s a good thing I had a few wire antennas laying around, but Leadtek should look at shoring up the metal connection of the antenna to the connector so that this doesn’t happen.
Connection to the computer is done via the USB cable but the included cable had a few problems. For starters, the cable is a little short. I would’ve liked to have seen a longer cable included so you don’t have to place the unit so close to the computer. Also, and this could be more of the plug design on the unit, it’s a little too easy to wiggle the plug loose. It’s definitely too loose for my taste and I’ve had a few devices with strong holds on the USB cord with the smaller plug in the Dell DJ and a few of my Sony cameras.
Installation went ok and as with other pieces of hardware, I highly suggest you go to the website first to see if there’s a newer version. I didn’t have problems installing the drivers for the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe. The software was a little flaky on one of my machines though as it would reset the computer with the unit plugged in. And on one other machine, the FM sound would be garbled after I plugged it in. It took me a few tries of unplugging and re-plugging it in for the FM to come in clearly.
The WinFast DVR program hasn’t changed much and it’s not bad. Although I do like the GUI’s of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Snapstream’s BeyondTV, the WinFast DVR interface is clean with a futuristic look and feel. The FM control panel looks the same as the TV one so you won’t be confused in when you switch between the two. Like ATI’s Multimedia Center, you can specify the quality and format of your recordings. You can also tweak the picture quality in saturation, color, hue, brightness, sharpness, and contrast. For those that like to archive to a disc format, you can even burn directly to a DVD or create a VCD. There are plenty of options here and the WinFast DVR program offers a good deal of flexibility to improve your multimedia experience.
Performance was acceptable with around a 40% CPU usage with my test computer consisting of an AMD64 3200+ with 512MB of ram and an ATI X800XT video card. Picture quality was pretty good and kept up with quick action such as basketball games pretty well. I did notice a stutter or two but not enough to really be annoying. Other than that the color and sharpness of the image were along the lines of other non-hardware encoded cards.
For FM, the WinFast USB II Deluxe also provided great performance provided you have good reception of course. When I positioned the antennae correctly, I received clear and loud audio from my local radio stations. I found myself using the FM tuner a lot more than I thought I would while I worked on articles. Task manager also showed that the CPU usage when using FM was 1-2%, which means you can use this to listen to the radio and know that it won’t take up a very minute portion of your CPU.
It’s not that inexpensive but it isn’t a huge improvement over their last USB TV device. For those on the go or need a portable TV and radio solution, the WinFast USB II Deluxe will give you those needs. You can easily turn any PC into a DVR solution with this product and get some good performance out of it. I do like the changes done to the main unit and even with some of the problems I had, once it was running it worked well.
The physical change to the device is nice but some of the software problems that were in the previous version still exist here. When running, it does do a very capable job.
Rating: 7.3 Average
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
About Author
Odyssey2, Baby! That’s where it all began for me. Sure my friends all swore by their Atari 2600s, but to me there was nothing better than Pick Axe Pete or K.C. Munchkin! Intellivision? Colecovision? Please! Give me Artillery Duel and my trusty Bally Astrocade (which even by today’s standards might have had the best controllers of any console ever)! Commodore 64? Ha! We had the Atari ST! Ah, the good ole days...
Since then, I’ve owned and loved just about every major video game console and many, many PCs. These days, when I’m not at my day job as a software developer or scarring the crap out of my pets with my musical dis-arrangements, you can find me playing pretty much whatever the latest greatest FPS happens to be on PC or whatever game is in vogue on the latest consoles. (Although, I have been known to still fire up the old Oddysey2 emulator from time to time!)
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