KWorld Component Video Capture Test Report

All, I just tested a K-World TV tuner product that comes with the Component Video input module. While I knew before I got it that it will not capture HD, I was quite surprised when I hooked it up and after some tweaks that it does accept all of the Enhanced Definition formats, including 480p @ 16:9 wide screen!

This will only work if you set your settlop box to convert all channel formats to 480p and set it as the “fixed” screen format in your settlop box settings screen. Otherwise, if the input signal changes to another format, the KWorld tuner will get confused and will display a scrambled screen. To set the format on the card, simply change the the input source to composite, make sure your settop is set for 480p wide screen, make sure the component video cables are connected to the tuner, and switch the input to component video using the included KWorld tuner software.

The quality of the image is impressive. Digital cable channels that are Standard Deinition coming from a settop capture at a quality level superiour to that of standard S-video and composite video capture that are commonly found on other tuner board products. High definition channels downgrade to 480p but still an upgrade over 480i capture of S-video and composite, but the big surprise was that the capture retained the 16:9 wide screen format of these channel’s original 720p or 1080i formats!

The card works great in Media Center. The quality of it’s analog channel tuner is not so great compared to other analog tuners like the Theater 650 Pro. It has an FM tuner which can be used in Media Center, which is a cool plus. I recommend it settop component video capture at the fixed resolution of 480p Wide. I do not recommend it for it’s analog NTSC tuner. For it’s low price, it is a great alternative to the more expensive Hauppauge Hd-PVR (over $200 bucks). While the Hauppauge card does capture HD, for it’s price the KWorld card is a great alternative, considering that it will retain an HD signal’s original 16:9 wide screen format and only partially downgrade an HD image (to 480p instead of 480i), which is a major major improvement over S-video!

I forgot to mention that the card also includes an RCA coax SPIDF audio input, so you will also get perfect sound duplication of the captured program (another dramatic improvement over the old S-video way of doing things). To get this working, I had to set my settop’s digital output to PMC. The card does include an AC3 internal audio connector. I’m guessing that if connected properly to a Dolby-capable sound card or codec, Dolby Digital enabled on the settop through it’s setting screen would work as well as PCM.