Any good External HDTV Tuner (USB 2.0)?

[rogerconnery]

I'd like to watch HDTV on my 17 inch laptop screen (so an internal card won't help my situation). After thorough searching, I can't find any reviews online or on any forums discussing them. It seems they don't exist (?) or the standard hasn't been settled yet.

Can someone shed light on why External HDTV tuners don't really seem to be out in the market?

The closest thing I can find is the new Sling Box Pro. Are there any other reasonable and simple alternatives?

Thank you all for listening!

[redwudz]

I found quite a few with a Google search for 'usb hdtv converters'. Here's the first on the list: http://www.copperbox.com/lite/onair.php There seems to be more listed below. Most are in the $200US range. I'm assuming you are asking about OTA (Over The Air) HDTV?

And welcome to our forums.

[xxiangg]

DVICO Fusion HDTV5 USB is an external turner box
for computers. You can find reviews from this forum
or google reviews from other sites for more information.

[mats.hogberg]

My MSI Mega Sky 580 DVB-T USB "dongle" says it's HDTV ready.
Should be no more than $50 if available in US

/Mats

[SingSing]

This one is $119.00 : http://aitech.stores.yahoo.net/hdtvusb.html

[sorinicu]

My MSI Mega Sky 580 DVB-T USB "dongle" says it's HDTV ready.
Should be no more than $50 if available in US
/Mats

DVB-T is not ATSC... even if both are capable of HDTV.
This is $60: http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/products_id/575
But the laptop needs to be top-notch for HDTV content (high processing power).
Foogle for "USB HDTV tuner"...

[rogerconnery]

Thanks for all your help!

I'm still curious, though, why if HDTV is all the rage, and most people's PC monitors can handle some degree of HD (in terms of resolution) AND laptops are gaining more and more acceptance as desktop replacements, why external HDTV tuners haven't taken off like TiVo or iPods, et al.?

But anyway, thanks for all your help!

[mats.hogberg]

At least here in Sweden, very few broadcasts are HDTV. AFAIK, only one channel distribute a few movies now and then in HTDV. That's it. Add to that the imminent switch from mpeg2 to mpeg4 for HDTV - Who'd invest in hardware that'll become obsolete in a near future?

/Mats

[SingSing]

HDTV TV tuner consumes about 2 watts, it won't last very long on sharing ipod battery, it will drain ipod battery pretty quick. It will be pretty big/bulky with its own power pack as an add-on. A larger hand-held TV application maybe better.

TiVo is on its way. See : http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?threadid=151443

[sorinicu]

HDTV TV tuner consumes about 2 watts, it won't last very long on sharing ipod battery, it will drain ipod battery pretty quick. It will be pretty big/bulky with its own power pack as an add-on. A larger hand-held TV application maybe better.

Are you kidding? "ipod" or "hand-held TV" with HDTV resolution? Even for a laptop is silly - it would require to watch the content 16 inches away from screen... usually is more like 36 inches.

[rogerconnery]

I've done some researching and here were TWO products I've found recently (although I'm not sure on the performance/features due to a lack of reviews). If anyone has input please feel free to respond!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2485646&CatId=1427

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=324900&banner=bens

Although pricier, I'm leaning towards the Pinnacle HD Pro Stick. It seems to be able to accept both "over the air" signals (ABC, NBC, FOX, etc.) and connect to a signal through your cable provider (for HD ESPN, HD TNT, HD Discovery, etc.) , although i'm not entirely sure on that.

Here's a review on it from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/technology/05pinnacle.html?em&ex=1160452800&en=3dd00...20f&ei=5087%0A

[SingSing]

HDTV TV tuner consumes about 2 watts, it won't last very long on sharing ipod battery, it will drain ipod battery pretty quick. It will be pretty big/bulky with its own power pack as an add-on. A larger hand-held TV application maybe better.

Are you kidding? "ipod" or "hand-held TV" with HDTV resolution? Even for a laptop is silly - it would require to watch the content 16 inches away from screen... usually is more like 36 inches.

In U.S., the HDTV is going to be the only TV signal availabled, after shut down of all the analog NTSC station as ordered by FCC.

[Ma2T]

You could try this out, its HDTV and USB2 with some nice features.

http://www.hdtvlounge.net/hdtv-news/onair-hdtv-gt/

[sorinicu]

HDTV TV tuner consumes about 2 watts, it won't last very long on sharing ipod battery, it will drain ipod battery pretty quick. It will be pretty big/bulky with its own power pack as an add-on. A larger hand-held TV application maybe better.

Are you kidding? "ipod" or "hand-held TV" with HDTV resolution? Even for a laptop is silly - it would require to watch the content 16 inches away from screen... usually is more like 36 inches.

In U.S., the HDTV is going to be the only TV signal availabled, after shut down of all the analog NTSC station as ordered by FCC.

Wrong. DTV will be mandatory via ATSC standard, HDTV is just a variant of DTV, still there be allowed to be broadcasted programs in SDTV at 480 (standard res).