Multimedia technology manufacturer Compro has announced its latest TV tuning product, with some interesting features, but also a few omissions.
The Compro VideoMate V600 is a standalone TV tuner box. It's designed to be hooked up directly to a PC monitor, rather than be installed as a component within a PC. Consequently, setup will be very easy, provided the target monitor has a VGA input going spare.
The V600 outputs at up to 1680x1050 and, according to Compro, supports monitors up to 22" in size, although we see no reason for monitor size to be a limitation. Input-wise, there's analogue terrestrial/cable, s-video, component, stereo-audio and composite connections. You'll note no DVB-T support, meaning that the V600 is an all analogue shop.
An infra-red remote is provided for the usual television-like control you'd expect when... well... watching television. With component input support, games consoles can be hooked up to a PC monitor with relative ease and with nice video quality.
Other features include optimised scene modes depending on how the system is being used, a 2D+3D Y/C separation and noise reduction chip, and a 9-channel preview mode when watching telly.
We're not quite sure how popular the V600 will prove to be. There does seem to be potential use for it, but with only analogue television support, its other inputs might be more appealing. In any case it all boils down to price. We'll see what happens when it hits the e-shelves.
