TV Tuner for a Laptop?

[Brett Adair]

What is a good USB TV Tuner for a laptop? I just ordered a Dell Inspiron 1501 and I think it may be a good idea for me to get a descent tuner. Also, I might like to find a better antenna that I can put on the car. If anyone can recommend a good combination that would be great! Personal experiences with products would also be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Paul Stofer]

be sure you get something digital. remember that by 2009, per fcc every tv station will be required to go digital and remove their analog signal so the rabbit ear analog tuners wont work anymore.

 

[Brett Adair]

Oh yeah, I understand that. Hopefully there are some good digital, possibly HD antennas that will work while moving and mobile. I look forward to this little project.

 

[Stan Olson]

I highly recommend the AutumnWave OnAir GT USB tuner.

http://www.autumnwave.com/Consumers/OnAir-GT.html

It's a little more pricey than those cheap USB stick tuners, but you'll be more satisfied with this one. It does OTA digital and analog as well as Cable QAM digital signals. Did I mention this is an HD tuner? Great for watching those football games on the laptop. The support is really good as you can post your questions on the AVS forum and one of the tech support guys from AutumnWave will answer them.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=695589

You can get it for around $160 at buy.com:

http://www.buy.com/prod/onair-gt-mobile-hdtv-receiver-dvr-for-pc/q/loc/101/202493924.html

 

[Tom Van Kuiken]

USB Tuner

Anyone know anything about these cheapo usb tuners on Ebay ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/TV-TUNER-FREEVI...oryZ3761QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Paul Noble]

If it's as good as their PCI card that I have, then you won't go far wrong. The antenna is a bag of tosh though unless you are within a couple of miles of the transmitter.. As for Free to air HD, I'm in the UK.. What's free??? LOL

 

[Chad Cowan]

How exactly do these work? From what I can tell, they basically act as an antenna for your computer to pick up local signals. The ebay item that Tom posted above almost sounds too good to be true. Something like that could really help out my 2hr/day commute.

 

[Nick Parker]

Pinanacle HD Pro Stick...best investment I ever made for 100 bucks...works very nicely out on the road and even in the den hooked to the TV.


http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSi...ers/PCTV+Analog_Digital+PVR/PCTV+HD+Pro+Stick

 

[cstrunk]

How far away will you be able to get a good signal? 50 miles? 100 miles?

 

[John Erwin]

How exactly do these work? From what I can tell, they basically act as an antenna for your computer to pick up local signals.

These are basically Television Tuners wrapped up in a very small package. They need to be connected to a computer of course in order for you to use them. You have an easier time if you're running them on something reasonably modern. You still need to use an antenna with them; you would use the same kind of antenna that any other TV set would use, in this case something for a mobile setting. Keep in mind that watching TV while driving is illegal in most jurisdictions though (for the driver at least).

How far away will you be able to get a good signal? 50 miles? 100 miles?

The range has more to do with your antenna and location than anything else. You can likely expect 10 - 20 miles for a typical mobile installation, however if this type of product is used in a home or RV you can easily extend it further (up to say 50 miles with no sweat). I've used one with a large home antenna and picked up signals over 100 miles away.. under ideal conditions of course.