Desktop computers have had TV Tuner cards for several years, but portable computer versions are still relatively new. Originally PCMCIA bus tuner cards were a few hundred dollars, but Zurotech is offering their ZTTV tuner card for just under $60. This NTSC/PAL-compatible card lets you watch and record television from either an antenna or cable connection. You can also view video from composite sources such as a VCR or game console. We took the card for a short test drive and found that it performed well - despite its cut-rate price.

Zurotech's PCMCIA TV Card

The Zurotech's Model #ZTTV-CARDZ1 TV Card is usually sold as a retail kit through major electronics vendors such as Newegg or ZipZoomFly. An eight-inch tall antenna, adapter cable, adapter connector and software installation CD are included.

The card has two ports. One is for an antenna or cable connection. The other supports standard composite video, using those familiar cables with red, white and yellow connectors. The supplied adapter connector converts the RCA port (shown on the left) into a standard threaded F-connector type, which is the most common connector for standard definition antennas and cable television.

The "octopus" adapter cable takes three composite inputs and connects them to an S-Video-looking port (shown on the right).

The left port is for an antenna or cable connection; the right port enables the connection of composite video.