When Dell said its
Mini 10 TV tuner was coming this summer, well, we didn't expect it to be so soon. The company's dropped us a line to say we should expect to see it as a customization option starting sometime today, presumably along with the external antenna that's needed when the signal's low. The cost is an extra $50 and it'll net you over-the-air ATSC -- that's the new HD format, for those who haven't been keeping track. Additionally, a seventh color, passion purple, is being added to the library, and if your heart's set on cherry red, you'll be happy to know they're now a part of the (PRODUCT) RED portfolio, meaning Dell will donate $5 to the Global Fund with each purchase. No pics of the new hue just yet, but if any of these new additions sound enticing, you might wanna hit cancel on that late-night order we caught you placing.
posted May 21st 2009 12:02AM
How about an option to have an internal TV tuner and an antenna mounted inside the frame of the screen? Sure, it might require a specifically made and slightly bulkier shell for the LCD, but that'd be a much more elegant solution than a big tuner to carry around with your portable device.
There is an internal antenna. The external one is just for when you have a weak signal.
Unfortunately, you'll probably always have a weak signal, so the point's somewhat moot...
@Thomas
Agreed. Don't expect to be ATSCing in your office. Unless its a corner office.
errrr. @moose
Do they sell mini-pcie cards so that you could install them other laptops/netbooks?
That would be way cool. I would have no problem installing an external antenna connector for it.
now just add the 2GB option and we are set
Or just add your own memory for cheaper?
You can't add / change the RAM on these (yet), it's soldered in.
Some are upgradeable
"that's the new HD format, for those who haven't been keeping track"
it's really not that new at all, contrary to popular belief ATSC has been used for a while now, the June 11 shutdown is just to force people to finally leave NTSC for it
Actually it's the new Digital OTA format and HD is a part of that spec but so is 480i and 480p.
does anyone know if the ram is user upgradeable now?
Will they be offering the crimson red option? That's all I'm worried about
Been waiting for this!
Is there anything similar for the mini 9 ?
I see purple
http://i.dell.com/images/global/products/314x314/laptop-inspiron-10v-purple-314.jpg
but no tuner yet.
That's actually pretty cool. So you can watch basic cable anytime you want, or do you need some type of "tv hotspot" like with wi-fi?
Its over the air TV, just like if you didn't have cable except these days its in HD. If you have a good signal it looks crystal clear because its digital. If you don't live anywhere near a major city then you might not get as many channels. If you are in the US go to a site like antennaweb.org and it will show you what stations are in your area.
This is part of what we were waiting for.. actually, the only thing we all want i think it's 2GB, that's it, that's the netbook i want right now, i don't care about tuner cuz i'm far away from the US
So, does anyone know when DELL will be upgrading to 2GB memory size?
Cheers!
The 2GB version was supposed to come out yesterday according to that leaked release roadmap that came out a month or two ago.
Once they actually add the TV tuner, Dell will just need to add:
- 2GB or 4GB RAM
- Integrated GPS
- AT&T WWAN option (not just Verizon, which is useless overseas)
- WiMAX would be great, but I won't hold my breath
- Maybe another OS option
- I'd like to see a fingerprint reader, too
All would be nice, but the first three have to be there along with TV. Then the Mini-10 would be good to go.
does the netbook even have the power to decode the atsc signal...if so i doubt is will display 1080i/720p at its native res...unless the tuner has a hardware decoder which i highly doubt it
Yes, it will decode ATSC broadcasts just fine. MPEG2 does not require much power for playback. I have been doing it since I had a P4 with 256MB.
Hopefully this option will be available in the UK with the ability to decode DVB-T for watching Freeview (UK digital terrestrial TV).
Can this tuner decode NTSC signals also? I've got a USB TV tuner which could decode both. If you're doing a lot of international travelling, a tuner limited to ATSC will be dead weight most of the time.
Might be a dump question but is Atom powerful enough for OTA TV?!
You're right, it was totally dump.
Seems to be out for $20:
http://www.netbookchoice.com/2009/05/21/dell-mini-10-internal-tv-tuner-now-available-for-20/