DVB-T + Analog TV on laptop while travelling?
 

On January 12, I wrote:
FYI, the report from Oz is - hopefully :-) - at least six months away,
so don't hold your breath for *that* one.

We're back from Oz. We had a great time.

However the (Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro) DVB-T + Analog TV [USB] Stick
was basically useless during our trip.

Only in a *few* of the bigger towns, we had *some*, very bad, analog
TV reception. Most of the time, only if we were in a cabin with a normal
TV, so I could tune the stick while connected to the real antenna and
then use it on the found frequencies with the rod antenna. Having to
have a real TV and antenna, somewhat defeated the purpose of the stick!
:-)

Anyway, we had also bought a (Telstra/ZTE T6) NextG mobile phone and
we watched the news and weather on the phone and could also check the
weather on the phone via its web-browser. Of course we could do that
only if there was NextG coverage, but that was the case in most towns,
also the smaller ones.

[Full posting for reference:]
[rec.travel.australia+nz re-added, so the whole audience is up to date.]

On January 1, I wrote:
Derek Derek@home wrote:
[...]
I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

I'll let you know either way, i.e. if I buy it or not, and if I buy
it, whether it works in my home country (The Netherlands), and whether
it works in Oz.

A little feedback:

I bought the Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro [USB] Stick which I mentioned
before.

Results are as follows (at home in The Netherlands):

- DVB-T reception with the supplied small rod antenna only works on the
second floor (ground/first/second) of our house (which, compared to
Oz, is in a somewhat built-up area). It then works very well. Clear
full screen picture, without any visible/audible interruptions.
On the ground floor it doesn't work at all, i.e. the scanning software
doesn't find any stations and the already found ones have a 0% signal
strength.

- Analog (TV): We have no analog transmitters anymore, so I could only
try it on our cable-TV connection, which - no surprise - worked well,
taking in account that it's analog, i.e. some noise, less sharp, etc..

- FM radio: Works on the ground floor as well/poor as a normal portable
radio with such a small antenna would work. I.e. performance is as to
be expected.

The software also has Internet radio, but I assume that's a pure
software component, so hardly relevant, especially for my use, which is
*TV* reception when there's *no* Internet connection.

That's about it. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.

FYI, the report from Oz is - hopefully :-) - at least six months away,
so don't hold your breath for *that* one.

[Full posting for reference:]

On January 1, I wrote:
Derek Derek@home wrote:
"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
.home.nl...

[Crossposted to aus.tv.digital and rec.travel.australia+nz.]

On our next trip to/in Australia, mainly in rural/outback areas, we
will be taking a mini-laptop with us.

I was wondering if it would be worth our while to buy a small (USB)
DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestial) tuner, probably a combined
DVB-T/Analog one, probably a Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick [1].

Would such a stick/tuner be useful in rural/outback areas, i.e.
small(er) towns?

Would there likely be DVB-T, or analog TV, or both?

This Gov data base shows what is where.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_9150

Thanks for that! That will come in handy, also for general purpose,
i.e. in-vehicle radio reception, etc..

Many country areas (like my inlaws place) are analog only.

Would the supplied small rod antenna be sufficient?

Highly unlikely

Yeah, I was afraid of that.

Any other comments or/and suggestions?

Are you sure your mini laptop will even support a USB tuner?

It's an Acer Aspire One with Windows XP. (I first had a Linux version,
but Linux support for this - and other kind - of consumer stuff, is
ranging from non-existant to very hard to set up.)

Pure software support is not a problem, but processor speed may be a
problem. The specification of the USB-tuner say "Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or
Pentium M 1.3 GHz". I have a 1.6 Ghz Atom, so that might be a problem.
OTOH, the system comes with InterVideo WinDVD (a little silly, since,
because of its size, the machine doesn't have a DVD/CD drive), so if it
can handle DVD video, it hopefully can also handle TV video.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

I'll let you know either way, i.e. if I buy it or not, and if I buy
it, whether it works in my home country (The Netherlands), and whether
it works in Oz.

DVB-T + Analog TV on laptop while travelling?
 

Frank Slootweg wrote:
On January 12, I wrote:
FYI, the report from Oz is - hopefully :-) - at least six months away,
so don't hold your breath for *that* one.

We're back from Oz. We had a great time.

However the (Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro) DVB-T + Analog TV [USB] Stick
was basically useless during our trip.

Only in a *few* of the bigger towns, we had *some*, very bad, analog
TV reception. Most of the time, only if we were in a cabin with a normal
TV, so I could tune the stick while connected to the real antenna and
then use it on the found frequencies with the rod antenna. Having to
have a real TV and antenna, somewhat defeated the purpose of the stick!
:-)

Anyway, we had also bought a (Telstra/ZTE T6) NextG mobile phone and
we watched the news and weather on the phone and could also check the
weather on the phone via its web-browser. Of course we could do that
only if there was NextG coverage, but that was the case in most towns,
also the smaller ones.

[Full posting for reference:]
[rec.travel.australia+nz re-added, so the whole audience is up to date.]

On January 1, I wrote:
Derek Derek@home wrote:
[...]
I'd be interested to hear how you get on.
I'll let you know either way, i.e. if I buy it or not, and if I buy
it, whether it works in my home country (The Netherlands), and whether
it works in Oz.
A little feedback:

I bought the Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro [USB] Stick which I mentioned
before.

Results are as follows (at home in The Netherlands):

- DVB-T reception with the supplied small rod antenna only works on the
second floor (ground/first/second) of our house (which, compared to
Oz, is in a somewhat built-up area). It then works very well. Clear
full screen picture, without any visible/audible interruptions.
On the ground floor it doesn't work at all, i.e. the scanning software
doesn't find any stations and the already found ones have a 0% signal
strength.

- Analog (TV): We have no analog transmitters anymore, so I could only
try it on our cable-TV connection, which - no surprise - worked well,
taking in account that it's analog, i.e. some noise, less sharp, etc..

- FM radio: Works on the ground floor as well/poor as a normal portable
radio with such a small antenna would work. I.e. performance is as to
be expected.

The software also has Internet radio, but I assume that's a pure
software component, so hardly relevant, especially for my use, which is
*TV* reception when there's *no* Internet connection.

That's about it. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have.

FYI, the report from Oz is - hopefully :-) - at least six months away,
so don't hold your breath for *that* one.

[Full posting for reference:]

On January 1, I wrote:
Derek Derek@home wrote:
"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
.home.nl...
[Crossposted to aus.tv.digital and rec.travel.australia+nz.]

On our next trip to/in Australia, mainly in rural/outback areas, we
will be taking a mini-laptop with us.

I was wondering if it would be worth our while to buy a small (USB)
DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestial) tuner, probably a combined
DVB-T/Analog one, probably a Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick [1].

Would such a stick/tuner be useful in rural/outback areas, i.e.
small(er) towns?

Would there likely be DVB-T, or analog TV, or both?
This Gov data base shows what is where.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_9150
Thanks for that! That will come in handy, also for general purpose,
i.e. in-vehicle radio reception, etc..

Many country areas (like my inlaws place) are analog only.
Would the supplied small rod antenna be sufficient?
Highly unlikely
Yeah, I was afraid of that.

Any other comments or/and suggestions?
Are you sure your mini laptop will even support a USB tuner?
It's an Acer Aspire One with Windows XP. (I first had a Linux version,
but Linux support for this - and other kind - of consumer stuff, is
ranging from non-existant to very hard to set up.)

Pure software support is not a problem, but processor speed may be a
problem. The specification of the USB-tuner say "Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or
Pentium M 1.3 GHz". I have a 1.6 Ghz Atom, so that might be a problem.
OTOH, the system comes with InterVideo WinDVD (a little silly, since,
because of its size, the machine doesn't have a DVD/CD drive), so if it
can handle DVD video, it hopefully can also handle TV video.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on.
I'll let you know either way, i.e. if I buy it or not, and if I buy
it, whether it works in my home country (The Netherlands), and whether
it works in Oz.



PLAIN TEXT, ****WIT...