GOTVIEW PCI DVD2 Lite and Deluxe: TV-tuners with hardware video compression
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Date: 17.05.2006 |
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Some time ago, the GoTView PCI DVD TV-tuner with the hardware MPEG-encoder CX23416 won a lot of whatever rewards for high quality of reception, high recording quality, the best package bundle, for… In fact, for all. This unique TV-tuner has still been in great demand among all the home video fanciers who finally decide to digitize the content accumulated for many years. But for some reasons, the manufacturer decided not to equip this stylish low-profile board with an FM-radio receiver. We only have to guess about the causes, but there is the fact that the circle of potential users of GoTView PCI DVD have turned narrow significantly, since the radio audience in our country is wide enough.
Today, we are presenting two novelties that continue the line, they are GoTView PCI DVD2 Lite and GoTView PCI DVD2 Deluxe which arrived at our test lab today. The names seem to suggest that the boards are to be very similar to one another and differ in fine details only, say, availability of accessories in the package bundle. But in fact these two video cards are similar to one another only in some parts.
Package bundle specifics
The company has not revised its proprietary style of packaging (and the hardware itself either) where the violet color prevails. Boxes with the cards are compact enough and are similar in dimensions , but the package bundle of the Lite and Deluxe models has undergone essential changes.
GoTView PCI DVD2 Lite
Inside the box with PCI DVD2 Lite we found the following contents: a replaceable metal plate to fit the board inside various makes of housings like Barebone, a remote control, an S-Video->RCA adapter, an audio cable 3.5 mm minijack - an RCA pair, an external IR sensor for the remote control with sticky base, an FM aerial, CD with proprietary software, a traditional CD with WinDVD Creator 2 by InterVideo, as well as a hard copy of video editing manual (in Russian).
In general, the package bundle is not bad at all indeed - there are all the required cables, a stylish flat remote control so attractive to the users still since the old version of GoTView PCI DVD (that is one of the most elegant remote controls which come as bundled items with various TV-tuners),
the board can be fitted inside compact housing, and there is an unusual more comfortable FM-aerial. The latter is not a T-shaped structure. Now it is a single cord which is easier to fasten around.
GoTView PCI DVD2 Deluxe
There is less free space in the second box: the tuner itself, a replaceable metal plate, a universal remote control, an external IR sensor for the remote control, an S-Video cable with RCA connectors, an audio cable 3.5 mm minijack - an RCA pair, a T-shaped classical FM aerial, two CDs, a Russian-language manual for video editing, and the remote control usage guide.
The "Deluxe" prefix added to the name of the tuner has its purpose. The most important difference in the package bundle, apart from the additional cords, is the unique remote control which we wrote about several times on our web site. You can find a detailed description in the respective review. Nevertheless, of note is that the remote control is primarily remarkable for the fact that its operation does not require any software - it leverages the operating system facilities of hot key assignments for absolutely any action, e.g., start-up of a program. Besides, this handy remote control operates with any programs that allow for hot key assignments, e.g., with the popular Winamp MP3-player. And of course the remote control is fully supported by the program to operate GoTView TV tuners.
Summing it up briefly, we note that the package bundle of GoTView PCI DVD2 Deluxe is one of the most abundant among similar cards to date.
Design of the
Externally, the boards are different in not only the components but in their dimensions - the Lite version is much shorter than its elder brother. On the other hand, by the width both cards are suitable for installation within a Barebone system, in which case the metal fastening plate has to be replaced with a shorter one that comes as a bundled item. Let's examine each tuner in more detail.
GoTView PCI DVD2 Lite
This model is interesting in that the user won't find the large-size traditional RF unit. The thing is, this tuner uses a semiconductor selector switch by Xceive - XC2028. But it is so tiny that you can't notice this square chip on the front side of the board.
Quite recently, we examined operation of the RF-unit of the company together with a TV-tuner for the notebook AVerTV Hybrid+FM Cardbus. But instead of that, it used the XC3018 chip, and the reception quality has not proved on par. There are no longer any doubts in that semiconductor selectors have equaled screened analogous boxes at quality. Besides, the chip-selector is cheaper to produce, which is another hit at the tin boxes.
As the core, the manufacturer has made use of the 10-bit modern decoder chip CX25843 by Conexant System Inc, which meets all the latest requirements: it allows for MPEG-1/2 recording at up to 15 Mbit/s stream rate, support for stereo sound in NICAM and A2 formats, support for various audio settings (balance, three-band equalizer) etc.
The no less popular encoder chip CX23416 by the same manufacturer is in charge of MPEG-1/2 encoding. This chip can be found much more frequently as an encoder on various cards, both internal and external, du to a high quality of the produced material, as well as adjustable noise-suppression settings.
We have already mentioned the chips CX25843 and CX23416 repeatedly, so we'd better not dwell on their traits. On the whole, the board is wired on both sides, it stands out with its traditionally high quality of soldering and no less traditional stylish violet lacquered coating.
Another interesting detail is that the board has not a single electrolytic capacitor - only ceramics. Moreover, the board uses a power supply stabilization system to reduce noise from other devices, which is extremely important for the internal tuner.
Another fine point regarding the heat emission. In the GoTView PCI DVD2 Lite tuner, it has been reduced to the minimum limit. First, the combination of Falcon 2 chips (CX25843 and CX23416) has already shown its best on other products, including the formerly tested TV-tuner GoTView USB 2.0 DVD Deluxe. Secondly, the RF-unit XC2028 differs from its brothers in a much lower heat emission. It turns out that the board heats up insignificantly during operation, so it is a perfect match for compact Barebone systems.
GoTView PCI DVD2 Deluxe
On the higher-end model, the manufacturer decided to install a proven and still trendy RF-unit. To that end, the most advanced model to date was selected - Philips FQ1216ME/I H-5, or Mk5, which also features in FM range reception, high image quality, and low noise level.
The Deluxe version is similar to the Lite for the availability of the same principal chips CX25843 and CX23416 - the Falcon 2 combination.
Besides, traditional electrolyte capacitors have been added to the double-sided wiring.
That is, GoTView PCI DVD2 Deluxe appears to be a classical version of a TV-tuner for those who are not into latest trendy ideas but prefer proven structures, albeit more costly, and reliable.
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