ATV2000

Watching TV on a computer or laptop is something quite common these days, especially since many stations offer online streams. For those who use dedicated hardware devices like TV tuners or video capture cards to record their preferred movies and other programs, a specialized software is a must.

One of the applications that are designed to be used with capture devices and TV cards regardless of their make and model is ATV2000. It consists of several modules that can be accessed independently.

Well suited for older drivers and filters like VfW (Video for Windows) and DirectShow interface, this utility will make it possible for you to watch television channels and save the multimedia content in the same time.

Configuring all the settings and controlling the functions ATV2000 can be done thanks to the easy to understand Control Panel and 'Options' module. From the main menu that is accessible via the tray icon of the application you can open the channels window, modify the image and sound modes, select the video source, open the teletext and even more.

Setting up the TV channels is among the first things you should do and the dedicated window will help you perform a full scan or check each individual frequency mode like NTSC Cable, PAL-BG or SECAM-L.

Personalizing each selected channel is possible by adjusting the volume, brightness, contrast, saturation and hue levels. You can also set the TV stations in the order you prefer and test channels before storing them.

When it comes to capturing the video stream, ATV2000 allows yo to save the content as segmented AVI files with a maximum size you set. You can also impose a duration limit or simply allow the recording to carry on until the drive on which the content is stored becomes full.

Also able to take frame captures or screenshots, the software offers a variety of bitmap formats, ranging from 8 up to 32 bits in color depth, as well as a JPEG mode, with a 'Quality' slider for you to use.

As a conclusion it would be a safe bet to put ATV2000 among the versatile tools that are able to carry out several tasks with the utmost ease insofar as TV viewing and capture are concerned.