Worked for a day - slowed computer down

I bought the Diamond Multimedia TV Wonder USB HD TV input because I wanted to see what was available on HD in my area. I thought that capturing shows directly off the air and then watching them later on my computer would be great.

Installing the software and the actual USB input is simple. In a few minutes I had a cable fro our roof top antenna connected and was receiving HD broadcast signals. Everything seemed great. The picture was good and I was able to receive about 15-20 stations.

It was when I went to use my computer while watching a small screen from the HD receiver that I noticed big problems. My computer had slowed to a crawl on all other applications. The TV receiver uses a lot of processor time. My machine is a Pentium 4 3.2GHZ with 1 GB of RAM, but that isn't enough for this processor hungry monster.

The other thing I notice was that the actual USB receiver runs VERY hot! Usually not a good thing where electronics are concerned.

I set up the software to record a show to my hard drive for a test. Checked later and nothing was recorded. The timer had hardly moved??

I played around a bit more and then shut the system down. The next day I booted it up and had a HD program playing while I was working in my room. After 10-20 minutes, the picture and audio just froze. I tried closing the program and restarting it, but nothing happened. I re-booted the computer and no reception. Re-installed the drivers but no difference. It was officially dead! I took it back to Best Buy and they promptly refunded my money.

One other annoying thing is that when you hook an external antenna cable to the USB device, the cable puts a lot of stress on the USB input with its weight. You have to support the cable to make sure your USB port isn't damaged.

So, I'll pass on having HD TV on my computer. I bought a couple of converter boxes for my TVs and they work like a charm.

Diamond has been a pretty good name when I have purchased their products, but not this time.