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USB TV tuners are appearing thick and fast and Avermedia's high-definition-ready TV on a stick claims to be the smallest and lightest yet.
The AverTV DVB-T Volar is tiny - about the size of a normal USB memory key.
Installation is pretty straightforward. The pdf documentation as good and we set up the software without hitting any glitches.
The first time the tuner is used in a new area, it will ask for a signal scan to be performed.
These scans can be named and saved, allowing you to quickly switch if you travel to different TV regions regularly.
The quality of the picture depends on the strength of the digital signal in your area.
As a digital-only tuner, it can't pick up analogue terrestrial channels, so you are totally reliant on Freeview. It can also pick up digital DVB-T radio broadcasts.
We were impressed with the picture when we plugged the tuner into an outdoor aerial, but using the travel aerial produced mixed results.
On the ground floor, we couldn't get a signal. Reception improved marginally on the second floor, and we could tune into about half the available Freeview channels, but the picture on some often froze.
Using a booster box improved the signal, but not by much.
So, as a travel tuner, the Volar is hard to recommend because the aerial is so weak that it is of little use. But, that's the same for rival USB tuners using travel aerials.
The DVB-T Volar has very basic timeshift functions.
Far from being instantaneous, the pause takes a couple of seconds to work, and the fast forward and rewind leap in chunks with very little control. But if you need to nip out of the room, it's better than no pause.
The record functions and Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) are much better though, and the device also works with Microsoft's Windows Media Center.
Avermedia's Volar doesn't come with a remote control, which does mean you must be close to your computer when watching TV.
It's definitely more of a product you'd use on a PC in your home office or child's bedroom as opposed to the lounge.
If you can get a decent digital TV signal the Volar is a cheap tuner that can be easily used on different computers.
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