ChrisTWEAK 2.99

Overview

ChrisTWEAK is a tuning software package to optimize the existing capture device driver settings.

Whilst a TV capture software package usually will let the user tweak a few settings here and there, ChrisTWEAK software package aims to go much farther than that with extensive modifications available depending on the capture card being used in the computer.

The main settings let the user pick the TV card that they have. It is also possible to choose which capture devices should be used when applying the desired tweaks. These include how a video capture is conducted (internal or external web cam), TV tuner, TV audio, TV crossbar, MPEG Hardware encoder, and MPEG Hardware Multiplexer.

Image and sound can also be tweaked to adjust up or down the settings for brightness, contrast, saturation, hue and sharpness. How audio is received and what type of audio is accepted (stereo, mono, dual a+b, etc.) can also be set.

Once a profile is set to the user's liking, there is the option to save that profile so it can be retrieved later. This opens up the option to have multiple profiles and switch between them depending on which TV tuner card is being used, a web cam being used that day, and so forth. One web cam can be a basic one on the laptop, whereas a second external HD web cam can be occasionally used for video-casts from another location and this application can help to quickly change the source of video capture.

Installation

The installation required 1.4 MB of available space to setup. There were no issues with the installation.

There was no adware, toolbars, malware or spyware included with the distribution.

ChrisTWEAK requires Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista or later version.

Interface

The interface itself is really a system configuration tool rather than a true interface per se. The necessary tweaks can be made, a profile saved, and then the tool can be minimized to the system tray.

There are several tabs to get the user into the appropriate section. The Main area lets the user pick their sources of capture devices. A profile tabs provides access to other profiles previously saved or to save the current selections as a new profile. There is also some more advanced settings like agreeing that the application will load up when Windows does.

Pros

• Select capture devices for video, TV tuner, TV audio, TV crossbar, MPEG Hardware encoder, and MPEG Hardware Multiplexer
• Change settings for each capture device selected
• Select sound mode (stereo, mono or dual)
• TV channel number and the country can be selected
• Video sources and audio sources for input can be picked

Cons

• Requires someone who has a bit of technical knowledge to connect up different sources and know to switch between them

Alternatives

ChrisTV Lite is another way to control your TV card.

Conclusion

ChrisTWEAK is a helpful tuning software package to select capture device driver settings for video, audio, TV and more. Save profile settings.