Hands-on Review: Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick

When I first saw Pinnacle's PCTV HD Pro Stick, I wondered if a 2.5-inch USB device could really deliver TV through a PC.

After giving it a trial run in my home, I've discovered it requires the right set of circumstances to work well, and my suburban home setting doesn't provide them.

I followed the directions that promised to have me watching TV "in minutes," using the rabit-ear antenna that came with it. The portable antenna hooks up to the USB drive hardware and is best if by a window. That's where I put it. The software set-up went smoothly, but the results were lackluster. To be fair, Pinnacle's instructions say you'll get the best results if you connect the PCTV to a "properly adjusted rooftop antenna using double-shielded coaxial cables and a digital-enabled antenna amplifier."

I don't know about your home, but ours no longer has a rooftop antenna. We access our TV programming through satellite service, and the owners before us got it through cable. The other options recommended are to connect coaxial cable from your cable jack, if you have cable, to the PCTV hardware, or to connect it to a cable or satellite set-top box via S-Video, audio, or composite video cables. But if you're that close to a TV with a satellite or cableTV set-top box, why would you want to watch TV on your PC? Unless, of course, you're using your PC to record the shows to watch later and away from home.

The $130 PCTV HD Pro Stick could be an inexpensive avenue to TV for the right owner—a college student in a dorm, or a college grad new to the work force and short on disposable income. As I mentioned, it serves as a recorder, too, and requires no service charges. But all the stars need to align for it to deliver as promised: Up to 20 digital channels and 5 HD channels. I received seven channels, and the picture definition could best be described as snowy and the audio a little raspy with the included antenna.

Pinnacle also warns that reception of digital TV may be impaired by steel-reinforced walls and tall neighboring buildings. An amplified external roof antenna is needed in that scenario. Don't expect it to work in car or a train, either.

That said, in the right conditions, Pinnacle's PCTV HD Pro Stick may provide an affordable TV-on-the-go solution. (You can record shows on a PC, DVDs, and in Apple iPod and Sony PSP formats.) For our family, which has access to more TV than we can possibly watch via our satellite service and the DVR that comes with it, Pinnacle's PC solution isn't a must have.