Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD Wireless

The Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD Wireless is a location-shifting device similar to the Slingbox Mediaplayer that differentiates itself by supporting multiple computers and wireless connectivity. You connect a source of video such as a set-top box or cable box to the device and then connect the device to your A/V receiver or television. When the device is off the signal gets passed to your television like normal with no difference in the viewing experience. Turning PCTV To Go on lets you capture the video output and stream that to any computer in your house or even across the Internet, as long as it's running Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Where to Buy

PCTV To Go Buy it from AmazonAmazon
PCTV To Go Win it on eBayAmazon
PCTV To Go Compare prices at Shopping.com
PCTV To Go Buy it from Beach Audio
Pinnacle PCTV To Go Black
MSRP $249.00
Release date April, 2007
Brand Pinnacle
love it
want it
have it
tag it

Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
2 reviews
32
negative
mixed
positive
0 positive
0 mixed
2 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
Convenient pass through A/V ports
+2agreedisagree

Features the most common A/V ports
+2agreedisagree

The only wireless media streamer available
+1agreedisagree

Let's multiple computers see the stream at once
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
Only compatible with Windows XP/Vista
+2agreedisagree

No HD stream available
+2agreedisagree

Doesn't let someone watch TV while streaming at the same time
+2agreedisagree

Only one stream supported
+2agreedisagree

No HDMI port
+2agreedisagree

No digital audio port
+2agreedisagree

Network connectivity is confusing
+1agreedisagree


2 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!

Details

Connecting a video source to the PCTV is accomplished through one of the component, composite, S-Video, or RF inputs. There is only one set of stereo RCA inputs meaning you have to use a Y-cable to receive audio from multiple sources. As a result of the audio setup only one source can be active at one time otherwise the audio will overlap ontop of each other. Controlling the connected device is accomplished through the included IR blaster that passes remote signals from the computer directly to the source box. The box can accept a high-definition signal, however the media stream is downscaled to standard definition.

Networking the PCTV with the computers can be done  through the wireless G connection or a wired ethernet cable or both. However, there are some quirks in the network setup. If your computer is connected to your home network through a wire, then the PCTV must be connected through a wire for the two to communicate. Similarly for wireless computers. Therefore, if your home network contains both wired and wireless computers, then the PCTV must be connected to your home network both wirelessly and through a wired connection.

Pinnacle claims that up to 50 computers can receive the stream at one time. Two notable issues are that the PCTV can only send out one stream at a time. Meaning every computer connected to the PCTV sees the exact same thing. Furthermore, when the PCTV is sending out a stream the signals are not passed through preventing people from watching television on the TV itself.

Pinnacle includes software that lets you view, pause, rewind and record the media stream and control the PCTV box itself. If you have a Media Center PC then you can configure the software to integrate with the Media Center as a television video source itself. Streaming across a local network uses MPEG2 compression which results in higher quality than the MPEG4 compression used for streaming over the Internet. Other limitations for remote streaming include being limited to Pinnacle's software, and no recording capabilities.

Submit a link

This report was started August 1, 2007 at 12:54 pm by Omar
with the last edit occurring August 2, 2007 at 5:52 pm by dialupinternetuser
This page has been viewed 842 times, with 41 edits by 3 contributors.
See the full report history »

Competitors

There aren't any competitors listed here yet.

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
If the product hasn't yet been added to ProductWiki, submitting it here will also start the product report.

Comments

Some HTML is allowed. Your comments remain editable after you post..

Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

Omar

avatar
August 1, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
36
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
7 cons

Pros

  • Convenient pass through A/V ports
  • Features the most common A/V ports
  • The only wireless media streamer available
  • Let's multiple computers see the stream at once

Cons

  • Only compatible with Windows XP/Vista
  • No HD stream available
  • Doesn't let someone watch TV while streaming at the same time
  • Only one stream supported
  • No HDMI port
  • No digital audio port
  • Network connectivity is confusing

Did you find this review helpful? Yes  /  No

dialupinternetuser

avatar
August 2, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
25
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
6 cons

Pros

  • Convenient pass through A/V ports
  • Features the most common A/V ports

Cons

  • Only compatible with Windows XP/Vista
  • No HD stream available
  • Doesn't let someone watch TV while streaming at the same time
  • Only one stream supported
  • No HDMI port
  • No digital audio port

Did you find this review helpful? Yes  /  No

Twitter

- join or start the conversation

... Loading for latest tweets from search.twitter.com..

tweetie

Price comparison information by: