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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. |
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