AVerMedia rolls Bravo Hybrid tuner with H.264 capture

AVerMedia has a new option for avid TV viewers looking to record iPod-ready video, the company said today. The AVerTV Bravo Hybrid plugs into a PCI Express slot and picks up HD signals through ATSC and ClearQAM tuning as well as NTSC for analog signals. Relatively unique to the expansion card, however, is native H.264 video encoding: TV up to and including 1080i and 720p HD can be captured in the format both to save disk space and for downscaling for use on some video-capable music players, such as iPods. A special gaming mode for Windows Vista systems with Media Center can guarantee that both audio and video are in sync for time-sensitive titles.

The firm does not list full OS support but says the Bravo Hybrid is recoginzed as a built-in tuner by both Windows XP and Vista systems with the Media Center front end, allowing DVR-like recording without needing separate software. AVerMedia packs its own software for encoding data and says the tuner card should already be available today for $80.