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Miglia TVBook Pro - watch & record DVB-T broadcasts
File this under "wish it was ATSC not DVB-T." Miglia has produced what appears to be the first digital TV reception card for the ExpressCard slot. DVB-T means that this guy will not work Stateside but in most European counties and well, that is where it is being sold for 150 Euros so it better use their standard. If the little built-in antenna isn't strong enough to pick up the broadcasts, Miglia has included a USB based amplified antenna to hopefully give ya that extra little boost. Thanks to the ever-so-popular eyeTV software, it can schedule and record broadcasts, along with the standard DVR functuality of pausing and rewinding TV. But still, when is the ATSC version coming out?
An interesting new product the HDHomeRun
File this under cool, umm what does it do? ... Ohh cool, but we hope they are better at designing electronics than using Photoshop. This is a ATSC tuner with a twist, you set this little guy up on your network and wire it to your OTA antenna and whala you can now watch HDTV on any PC in your house. It has two tuners and an IR receiver for commands, but we are left wondering how easy it will be to make our networked PC emit IR commands in another room. The cool part is that it is supposed to support DVR software and works on all platforms. The question is, if it is supposed to come out this week how come they don't have a real picture of it? On the other hand this is the same company that brought us the TiVo Cache card for those of us TiVo users who have been around long enough to remember when they were the essential.If you want to try it out you can buy one from 9thtee online for $169, be sure to let us know how it works.[Thanks, Frankie!]
Ask HDBeat: What are some good HDTV antennas?
Jon R. is inquiring if we know of any good HDTV antennas. Well Jon, we do but let us get something straight first. An antenna is an antenna. Some can be geared more for the UHF band where most of the ATSC signals reside but if you are close enough to the broadcasting antenna, a coat hanger and tin-foil will work. Now that we have that out of the way, we have found that the Terk TV5 indoor antenna to be a reliable and inexpensive way to pick up ATSC signals. For outdoor antennas, you may want to try ether the Terk TV38 (I have installed this 12-foot beast on a 30 foot tower - fun) or Winegard's PR-8800, but before you run out and pick one of these up, read OTA HD Demystified and then OAT HUD Demystified: Redux. These posts will guide you through the choosing and installation of antennas if you want to pick ATSC signals. Have you had good luck with a particular antenna you feel confident recommending to Jon?
El Gato's EyeTV Hybrid digital/analog tuner for Macs
You know you need it: that squishy soft gaze that comes with the kind of numb only a TV can deliver at the end of a hard day. El Gato knows this too, and delivers yet another fix to Mac owners in the form of the EyeTV Hybrid. As the name implies, this USB 2.0 stick delivers both hi-definition capable digital ATSC and traditional analog NTSC tuners to record (in MPEG-2 if your Mac has the muscle), edit, and pause live TV when combined with El Gato's bundled EyeTV 2 software. What's more, the kit works with the Apple Remote and includes a break-out cable for connecting composite and S-Video sources like your gaming rig -- for "zero latency" play on your Mac's display -- or that dusty VCR to convert the ol' VHS collection into digital media. Inputs that owners of Apple's stellar, but otherwise inflexible, 30-inch displays will certainly appreciate. Available now for $150 or €150 for our DVB-T signal lovin' brethren. [Thanks, Doug]
Digital TV converter coupons: Who gets them and how much?
There's been a lot of concern over the upcoming digital broadcast conversion and how it will affect those who currently get TV via over-the-air broadcast and haven't upgraded to sets with digital tuners. Under the proposal recently submitted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, only homes that do not have cable or satellite TV currently would be eligible for coupons to reduce the price of two boxes by $40 each. That might not seem fair to people who have say, one cable TV and that one TV in the basement/attic that you could always use to watch the game on Sunday if need be. Luckily if you disagree with the proposal -- which you can read in its entirety here -- they are inviting public comment.Check out the FAQ for info on how to make your voice heard, much like us they will publish your comments on the website for all to see. Sort of makes you wonder why the government doesn't just start up a blog for this kind of thing.
Samsung and their new low-cost over-the-air ATSC tuner - DTB-H260F
Over-the-air ATSC tuners can be pricey right now; with the exception of Radio Shack's cheap guy. Part of the reason is that not many manufacturers make one so competition is low. Samsung is one of the few companies that do in fact make these set-top boxes and they are moving to low cost tuners this fall. The DTB-H260F is going to retail for a low, low price of $179. While that isn't as cheap as we would like to see them, ($50-$75 range) it's a start. The analog switch-off is still a few years away and so we are willing to bet the farm that they will drop to that price eventually. This set-top box is a great value though compared to its older brother - SIR-T451. The newer one sports a HDMI port with an electronic programming guide. Not to shabby for $179.
Syntax-Brillian announces three new series of Olevia LCD TVs
Prepare yourselves for a slew of new LCD sets from Syntax-Brillian that will be released in the coming months, as the newly-merged company has announced three new series of TVs under the Olevia brand that each consist of numerous different models. Out of the 3-series, 5-series, and 7-series lineups, the most is known about the fives, as these four units -- the 27-inch 527V, 32-inch 532H, 37-inch 537H, and 42-inch 542i -- are shipping immediately. Like the as-yet-unannounced members of the 3-series, these models all sport a 1,366 x 768 resolution, and also feature 8-millisecond response times, 1600:1 contrast ratios, built-in digital ATSC tuners, and HDMI, VGA, and HD component inputs. All that's known about the 7-series, on the other hand, is the fact that its constituent models will all offer full 1,080p resolution and RS232C control capability, along with what's being touted as "Hollywood Quality Video," which either means that picture quality is very good or stifled by DRM restrictions. No pricing or release details are available for any of the 3- or 7-series models -- they're scheduled "to be introduced to the market incrementally through September" is all we can say for sure -- and out of all the 5-series models that are supposedly shipping right now, we could only find a price for the 527V, which you can pick up for $800 or less.Update: It would appear Hollywood Quality Video refers to Silicon Optix's Reon-VX chip, a "Hollywood Quality Processing" video system with a bunch of things HD nuts are sure to love (or love to laugh at), like four-field per-pixel SD/HD deinterlacing, film cadence processing, multi-direction diagonal filter, random noise reduction, and so on. Thanks, Jason.
A couple of mini-USB ATSC tuners - Artec T14A & FujuPlus FD-USB728
These little tiny ATSC slipped right under our radar. These are the first USB thumb-drive size ATSC tuners we have ever seen; we have peeped tons of DVB-T ones with jealous eyes till now. The first one is by Artec (T14A) and has just an ATSC tuner and antenna port on the unit. They even include an adapter so you can plug a real antenna into it rather then that thin piece of aluminum they call an antenna. The second one is by FujuPlus (FD-USB728); they add a NTSC and QAM tuner to the mix. The first one is going for $89 bucks and the second for $99. Nice. We did dig up a AVS Forum thread that deals with the Artec if you want more info.We have been waiting for these little tuners for a while...now if they could only work with OS X.Read:Artec T14A FujuPlus (FD-USB728)
Vista no longer needs a NTSC tuner
Our long time friend, Kevin C. Tofel, has been keeping us up-to-date with his latest crusade and it appears that he was victorious. Kevin has been following Vista's ridiculous NTSC requirement for some time and is now reporting that Microsoft has dropped it. (to be honest though, we kind of knew it was coming) Vista now allows an ATSC tuner to setup Media Center in the latest build of Vista. (5456) Previous versions would not allow a person to use a digital tuner for this which raised some big flags across the 'net. Didn't Microsoft know that on February 17, 2009 those analog tuners would be obsolete? Sure, there were ways around it, but that involved installing an NTSC tuner for the setup and then later swapping it for an ATSC one; you shouldn't have to do that.Well, you don't anymore 'cause Vista now works nicely with ATSC tuners!
FCC deadline July 1st, 2006: TV 25-inch and larger must have an ATSC tuner
This deadline just kind of snuck up on everyone. We have already noticed that most 27-inch TVs and larger have digital tuners in them but now it is the law. Any 25-inch and larger TV manufactured after July 1, 2006 and sold in the United States must have an ATSC tuner in them. Next year the deadline is going to be for TVs 13-inches and bigger. Why you ask. Well, the folks on the FCC board are not that bad 'cause they had the consumer in mind (for once) with this mandate. The analog broadcast switch off of February 17, 2009 is just right around the corner and they don't want recently purchased TVs not to work. Don't forget that this is only going to affect people that use an antenna to pull in the signals. Cable and satellite will not be directly affected by this.So the moral of the story is that if you use an antenna and are shopping for a new TV, make sure you are buying one with an ATSC tuner in it. If you need a smaller one, you might want to wait till next year otherwise you are going to have a nice little set-top box sitting next to that new TV in a few years.
FCC says: Use it or Lose it!
Have you been meaning to upgrade your OTA antenna to prevent dropped signals during your favorite HD program? You may want to wait till next week before spending your money. July 1st is the deadline set by the FCC for all DTV stations to go full power or forfeit the interference protection of their signal. Some have a hard time watching OTA HD and although it may be because of your location it could be that your local station is trying to save some cash by not sending full power to two transmitters. Since the beginning of the ATSC transition and until the analog cutoff TV stations have to pay to power two transmitters instead of one. Even though it costs them double they don't get twice the viewers and certainly not twice the ad revenue. As a result many stations don't fully power their ATSC transmitter to save some cash, but that free ride ends on July 1st.Unfortunately we know all too well how ineffective the FCC can be at enforcing its mandates so if you suspect your station is not at full power after July 1st, do some research and if necessary report them to the FCC. Don't worry about ratting on your friends, any station who is not at full power is no friend of ours.
Ask HDBeat: Where are the built-in ATSC turners for laptops
Joshua Nelson has a big problem and needs to get it off his chest. He could not find any of his "real friends" that would care about it so he turned to us. Well Josh...we can call you Josh right...we are here to help man. See 'ol Josh here has been looking at the new Toshiba HD DVD and Sony Blu-ray laptops but they are missing an ATSC tuner. His issue is that these are supposed to be high-def powerhouses but you can't watch high-def over-the-air programming without buying something else. (kind of reminds you of those new mac commercials) We agree Josh, what's up with that?Unfortunately though Josh, built TV tuners are just not a popular built-in option. The US is just so big and spread out that many people can only get two or three OTA stations with a roof-top antenna, let alone one that is built into a laptop. Korea, or Japan, is so dense that they are saturated with DMB signals and therefore it makes more sense having those types of tuners in everything from laptops, to cell phones, to their toasters. We don't have proof about the last one but we are sure there is a Hello Kitty toaster with a built-in TV and smoothie maker - there has to be.But getting back to your problem Mr. Nelson, this might be an option that will become popular but the only laptop we could dig up you already knew about: the Acer 9800. It looks like it does have a built-in digital tuner which should mean ATSC. But did you happen to catch the pic to the right of the description of the laptop with the antenna coming out of it; classic. Well, we hope that helped you feel better Josh. Sorry we couldn't help anymore but if any of our vast reader base has an inside line with Toshiba or Sony, if you put an ATSC tuner in your high-def laptops, you have at least one sale - Joshua Nelson.
SnapStream's Beyond TV 4.3 now with ShowSqueeze
It never fails when Microsoft releases a product it is seldom the best, but since it is so readily available *Read Free* it's easy to forget about the competition. Whether you are Citrix, PC-Anywhere or Snapstream, you have differentiate yourself by including some great features the Microsoft fans will have to wait for the next big release to get. The DIY DVR market isn't any different and Beyond TV has just raised the ante with 4.3. This is a great release for HD fans, it not only doesn't requires an NTSC tuner, but now it includs some additional HDTV specific features that you won't find in MCE. The biggest new feature for HD fans is ShowSqueeze, you might be thinking that squeezing your shows is a bad thing, but hard drive space can be expensive. An accompanying feature called StreamSnip will strip away unwanted sub channels, you know that weather map and ShowSqueeze will automatically compress the shows with the latest CODECs to help you save space without sacrificing PQ. Beyond TV 4.3 now supports DivX 6.1 as well as the latest ATI Theater 650 chipset, which is the first to include a hardware encoded NTSC tuner and ATSC tuner on one chip.Look forward to a full review, since SnapStream was nice enough to send us a copy for the HD Beat labs.
Viewsonic's 32-inch and 27-inch "future-proof" LCDs
ViewSonic, a name already well known on our computer desk, is now making a play for our living room with a set of LCD TVs that promise to delight us now, and keep us "future-proofed" into the, um, future. Both new models -- the 32-inch N3251W (pictured) and 27-inch N2751W -- feature 1,366 x 768 widescreen displays, 1000:1 contrast ratios, and zippy 8ms response times, along with HDCP-compatible HDMI inputs, S/PDIF digital audio outputs, and as a bonus, integrated digital ATSC tuners. Even better, the prices for these displays -- available now, at your favorite ViewSonic distributor -- aren't stratospheric, with the 27-incher going for $800 and the 32-inch model setting you back a grand or less.[Via HDBeat]
Blueado's m5e "Sport Edition" HTPC
If you liked the Mac mini-inspired Blueado m5e home theater PC, then you're gonna love a recently-released, improved version of the machine that the company is touting as a "Sport Edition" (because, you know, nothing invokes athleticism like sitting around watching TV and movies all day), which adds several compelling features (and $500) to its $1,500 sibling. Packing in the same 2.0GHz Pentium M processor and integrated graphics as the m5e, this new edition doubles both RAM and HDD capacity to 2GB and 400GB, respectively, and also throws in both analog and digital tuners for keeping you entertained. You get a fairly wide variety of connectivity options with this one -- USB 2.0, FireWire, DVI, VGA, S-video, and digital coax -- along with Dolby Digital and DTS support for hooking up your surround sound speakers to the included RCA outputs. Of course, no HTPC would be complete without a DVD burner, remote control, and million-in-one card reader, so the Sport Edition -- rolling into dealerships now -- mixes in those ingredients as well.
Move over Mac Mini: It's the Blueado m5e Sport
Ok so it's a little bigger than a Mac Mini at 4.2 inches tall and 7.8 wide, but a Mini doesn't include a ATSC tuner, a 400 GB hard drive and a Logitech® Harmony® 680 Universal Remote. This little box seems to have it all and it should with a MSRP of $1999, but with gobbs of inputs and outputs it may be just what we were looking for. Wow, would we like to have one of these in the HD Beat labs to run through its paces. More pictures after the jump.Thanks Chris!
Seven from Sony: new BRAVIA flat-panel LCDs
Even though we've all gone out and bought HD-DVD players already (not really), Sony is trying to woo consumers over to the Blu-ray camp with a snazzy new line of BRAVIA-brand flat-panel LCD TVs, five of which sport the coveted XBR designation, and five of which offer 1080p resolution for maximum enjoyment of the BDP-S1 that Sony is hoping you'll pick up this summer. All of the XBR sets -- the 46-inch KDL-46XBR3 and KDL-46XBR2, 40-inch KDL-40XBR3 and KDL-40XBR2, and 32-inch KDL-V32XBR2 -- feature a built-in ATSC tuner plus one VGA, two HD component, and three HDMI inputs, along with the usual flurry of patented picture enhancement technologies, with the XBR3s sporting that shiny piano black bezel which is so popular nowadays that it's showing up at some of the finest bars along the Jersey shore. Rounding out the bunch are the 46-inch KDL-46V2500 and 40-inch KDL-40V2500, which also give you 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, but no digital tuner, one less HDMI input, and no option for interchangeable, multi-colored bezels as with their XBR2 counterparts. Prices for these models -- which will all be available in September -- range from $2,500 for the 32-incher up to $5,300 for the stylin' 46-inch XBR3 (pictured), and of course, whatever you end up paying for that Blu-ray player.
Vista will not require a NTSC tuner
It wasn't that long ago that we were amazed that the NTSC requirement from Windows XP Media Center Edition was still a fact of life in Windows Vista Beta 2. This really bothered us for obvious reasons, like we have room for a NTSC card in our ultimate HD Media Center PC. Even if we did it, would take up the space for one of our ATSC tuners. Lucky for us the official unofficial word is out, Jay P. Kapur of the Media Center TV Team confirmed at AVS Forum that Vista will not need an NTSC Tuner![Via Chris Lanier's Blog]
Vista requires a NTSC tuner - UPDATE 1
Did you know this? In order to setup the WMCE part of Vista, it requires you to have a NTSC tuner card. An ATSC, or digital, will not work. It is a requirement by Microsoft to have an analog tuner card in your Vista box to watch digital TV. Sure, Vista is still in beta testing and all, but do you think that the Vista team knows that the NTSC tuner will be shutoff on Feb. 17, 2009. This is the same case in the Windows Media Center 2005 but it should not be in Microsoft's latest and greatest OS. There is a workaround however, even though you shouldn't have to use it. A person could use an external USB analog tuner to setup Media Center then use whatever tuner they want. Thoughts? UPDATE 1: Fixed digital switch-over date.
Spectrum's small, and we mean small, HDTV antenna
Check out this cool, little antenna. There is no word on price yet but the manufacturer, Spectrum, is prepping this guy for a global launch. There really is nothing innovative as it is just a small UHF antenna, but boy is it still cool. It is meant to be used with all those USB and PCI ATSC tuner cards that are out there. Just set this guy on the desk/table/rock you are using as a desk and away you go. It does appear that it can be mounted too. It is just kind of neat.Your thoughts...
