
Compro Australia VideoMate E700
Pros
- The ability to schedule a PC power-up and shut down when it's about to record or when it has recorded a program
Cons
- An MCE-style user interface would've been better
Bottom Line
The inexpensive Compro VideoMate E700 delivers the digital AV goods with aplomb - given a decent aerial it will display good quality standard definition images. Although the comprehensively featured ComproDTV 3.0 software isn't bad, an MCE-style user interface would be more convenient for ordinary TV viewing.
-
Price
TBA (AUD)
The Compro VideoMate E700 is an ultra-compact PCI-E card (with spare blanking plate for low-profile PCs) sporting a pair of DVB-T free-to-air tuners.
This contrasts with the Compro VideoMate T750, a PCI card TV Tuner, supporting both terrestrial analogue and DVB-T standards as well as FM radio.
As a consequence, the Compro VideoMate E700 has the very useful ability to let you watch one free-to-air channel while recording another -- and then some.
The Compro VideoMate E700 is supplied with the same ComproDTV 3.0 tuning software, which can, given the right hardware, let you watch as many as six 'pictures in picture', though you'll need a top-end Core Duo to do this.
The Compro VideoMate E700 lacks, however, the S-Video and composite inputs of the Compro VideoMate T750. It also lacks support for MHEG-5, which means no interactive services are supported, which is just as well as the remote lacks the proverbial red button.
Installation is straightforward and the Compro VideoMate E700 is Windows Vista certified. As before, ComproDTV 3.0 has a veritable laundry list of features and it'll let you do the usual time-shifting, pausing and scheduled recording. Programs can be recorded to a hard disk or straight to DVD if you wish.
Once again recording formats are a bit restricted -- only MPEG-2 and Transport Stream is supported. The ComproDTV 3.0 software is highly configurable: for example you can customise and store the picture and audio settings for each TV channel. Also in the box is DVD playback and authoring software, so the Compro VideoMate E700 is well stocked with goodies.
Like the T750, the Compro VideoMate E700 can control your PC's on/off button: it has the clever ability to schedule a PC power-up and shut down in order to record a program, a big plus in our view. You can also use the supplied remote to do this.
Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A review: This 4K monitor plays nice with consoles
- 2 Firewalla Gold review: Powerful home network security in a tiny box
- 3 Alienware AW3423DW review: Quantum dot OLED renders rival monitors obsolete
- 4 Acer Aspire 5 review: An affordable laptop that’s enjoyable to use
- 5 Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 review: This gaming laptop oozes luxurious power
Latest News Articles
- U.S. SEC slaps Nvidia with a US$5.5 million fine over GeForce GPUs used for crypto
- AMD shrugs off COVID chip shortage fears by focusing on premium PCs
- AMD announces 2023 ‘extreme gaming laptop CPU,’ Dragon Range
- According to Qualcomm, Nuvia processors are now due in late 2023
- This insightful Nvidia video explains how Game Ready drivers work
Resources
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers

Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world

Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles

PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Best Unlimited Internet Deals in 2022
- Microsoft’s universal ‘One Outlook’ client just leaked out
- Liquid Retina vs. Liquid Retina XDR: Which display is better?
- Which flagship TV is best? Sony 4K HDR Bravia 2016 versus LG 4K HDR OLED 2016
- 10 Blu-ray movies / Best looking Blu-ray movies