PortableTuner
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FilmOn finds another way to put live TV on your mobile, but it's still awkward
FilmOn's TV streaming ambitions haven't exactly gone according to plan since it got into legal hot water with a bunch of not-so-minor broadcasters last year -- including CBS, FOX and plenty others. Until that dries off, the company wants to bring TV to your phone, tablet or laptop using an additional route: a portable ATSC tuner. It's shown off a receiver dongle that it claims can enable watching and recording of free-to-air shows on iOS, Android, PC and Mac, with an in-built five-hour battery and pass-through charging. The FilmOn AIR device will start shipping in February with a $95.95 standalone price tag, or $149.95 when packaged with a year's subscription to the main FilmOn service that streams 120 channels over the web -- well, for now at least.
Inkel's portable AirwayHD tuner compresses files on its own
Granted, portable OTA tuners are a dime a dozen these days, but an interesting twist has been introduced by Korea's Inkel. The AirwayHD manages to boast a diminutive size while internalizing the process of converting OTA streams into manageable files using the H.264 codec. Reportedly, the device can compress files to one-fourth of their original size without any PC software intervention, and it should make life pretty easy for those hoping to view recorded content on their portable media player. No word on a release date just yet, but it'll only run you about ???100,000 ($106) when it eventually lands. Check out a few more pics after the break.
AMD unveils TV Wonder 600 USB, 650 PCIe HD tuners
Regardless of whether you're scouting a TV tuner for your desktop or portable machine, AMD has unveiled a duo of devices that will likely fit the bill. Up first is AMD's plug 'n play ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, which should have no problem tuning OTA HD on any machine equipped with USB, and also comes bundled with an IR remote, AV input, and Catalyst Media Center software. For the desktop only crowd, the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe (pictured after the jump) sports ClearQAM support, hybrid analog / digital tuning, a 3D comb filter, FM tuner, and like its portable sibling, works just fine with Windows Vista. No word yet on the pricing details, but both units should be shipping out next month.[Via DailyTech]
Pinnacle kicks out $100 PCTV HD Stick USB tuner
The Pinnacle PCTV USB Stick that you may have grown quite fond of over the past year has finally decided to get with the times, as the newest iteration throws HD capability into the minuscule tuner while still ringing up a penny under a Benjamin. The Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick steps it down a notch from its Professional sibling, but still allows users to "view live television on their PC with pause, rewind, and fast-forward timeshifting functionality." Pinnacle's latest USB 2.0 tuner is "about the size of a key," gets all the necessary juice right from the USB port, supports NTSC and ATSC broadcasts, and comes bundled with the firm's TVCenter Pro software. Best of all, this no frills portable TV tuner can get live programming on your laptop or desktop right now for a mere $99.99.
