Introduction

At the heart of any true HTPC is the TV Tuner - the whole source and reason for the machine's existence.

From bitter experience, I can attest to the fact that regardless of how much money you spend on an HTPC system, if the tuner is a dodgy one then you may as well not have bothered. It needn't be a problem with the hardware itself - perhaps the software drivers are buggy or badly-implemented. Either way, it's a world of pain.

So in looking at what products out there might make a good addition to your Digital Lounge, we're looking at two TV tuners by Compro and supplied by Anyware in Australia - the VideoMate T100 Digital Terrestrial TV Tuner Card and the VideoMate U500 USB2.0 DVB-T Stick.

We'll put both of them through their paces and try and work out if they should be added to your HTPC.