TV tuner

[OzBo]

I was looking at this TV tuner http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Peripherals/TV-Tuners/LAPIN01032
and from the specs it seems the T1005M is not strong enough? It is an Atom 1.5 Ghz, while the minimum system requirements of the TV tuner for the Atom are 1.6 Ghz. It is not a huge difference, but I suppose it is still relevant?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

With most of these spec lists they are not set in stone but there as an advisory help. The thing is there has to be a cut off point somewhere and so that is what is listed. It doesn't mean that it won't work at all with a lesser spec but you might have  degraded performance.

[OzBo]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

I have seen that eBay also has some of these TV tuners, very cheap and with lower requirements. I think I will have a good look at them too.

By the way, we don't have a rooftop antenna here. Currently we are half analog and half digital. I use an indoor antenna for my analog TV and don't have a digital one yet. However, this building is digital-ready.

I understand that for analog reception I will need an antenna, but what about digital? Will the TV tuner work without an antenna? I have read somewhere that for digital reception you just have to connect the TV tuner to the hole in the wall with a coaxial cable the first time and then it will work?

I know this doesn't have to do directly with computers, sorry... 

[Dark Mantis]

Hi OzBo

I am no expert on TV and even more so Aussie TV but as a general rule you need an ariel to pick up either signal and not just for the first time. If you can access the digital signal through the wall outlet then that just means there is some sort of communal antennae or cable connection.

As for the Ebay option try and make sure that they work before you purchase as I have found TV dongles to be notoriously difficult to get working at the best of times.

[OzBo]

Thank you. I would prefer to buy in  a real shop too. I will go to the shop one of these days and ask them. When we were all analog and I had my first laptop they had internal tuners, but they told me that without a rooftop antenna the reception would not be so good.
I am not really a TV fan, so there is no hurry. 

[Dark Mantis]

Please let us know how you get on when you finally decide to instal it anyway as it will be useful info for other members.

[OzBo]

Well, I asked in the computer shop yesterday and the guy seemed to think without a rooftop antenna and brick walls the reception would be awful... So I didn't buy it. However when I have the chance I will ask maybe in a shop where they sell digital TVs... I have heard so different opinions about whether you need an antenna or not with digital TVs! 

[Tinker]

Analogue & digital are supplied by same antenna preferably a multiband aerial. You have to be close to a
transmitter to get a good indoor aerial signal. In lots of places digital is the weaker signal until analogue
is shut down then the digital signal will be increased. Quite a few USB devices support both, a couple I
have used. At present have installed a hybrid card that is digital-analogue & Satellite free to air.

We live in a low signal area so have large aerial plus a variable signal booster. Also a 1metre movable
satellite dish so no problem with that.


Regards tinker.

[OzBo]

We don't have an antenna at all on the roof. I have an indoor antenna for my old analog TV, and it works, but the reception is mostly bad.
They came to inspect the building for digital reception last year and they put a cable in the wall and said it was ready...

But I think you are right, when we go completely digital the digital signal will be stronger, then maybe that USB stick will work better too for digital reception.

[Dark Mantis]

To be fair all this is pure conjecture and the only way to be sure is to try it. If they have wired a communal ariel and brought it down inside the wall for yopu then the signal should be good from that outlet. Try connecting to there for a start as all you need for that is a cable no other ariel.

[Tinker]

I agree best thing is to try wall socket but forgot to question in earlier post. Have they installed cable TV.
In that case an analogue TV wouldn't work unless a loft aerial is being used. Of course you can always
get a digital box to work with analogue TV.


Regards tinker.

[OzBo]

Yes, exactly, the guy who came last year inserted a cable into the wall socket  and said the  building is digital-ready. I don't have cable TV, although other people in this building have it. My neighbour had it and had a huge antenna on his balcony (of the same size as a rooftop antenna).
I think the guy who came last year had said I didn't need an antenna, and that I only had to insert a coaxial cable into the wall socket... The guy I asked yesterday in the shop was honest and said he doesn't think it works without a rooftop antenna, but after all the shop was a computer shop and he might not know 100%.
Maybe I will ask the landlord too.

I could get a box, but my TV is old and I wouldn't even have enough free channels... They said a box (here) is about 100 bucks, and a digital TV of the same size as my TV would be something under 200, about 170-180, tuned to all new channels. So I think it is better for me to get a new one altogether. I had thought of the USB stick as an alternative, as the TV room is freezing cold in winter, and with a USB stick I could watch TV in bed when there is something good (unfortunately not very often anyway...  )

[Tinker]

Hope you get it sorted  OzBo, with a digital box or digital HD recorder it has it's own tuner so
you usually use AV input on TV as analogue tuner becomes redundant. Antenna to digi box
then scart or HD cable to TV.

Cable is direct link & usually paid service. BT in UK if correct do the same thing via phone line
probably broadband though don't know the setup in your country. Some over the air services
send scrambled signal which have to have paid card & decoder.


Regards tinker.

[OzBo]

Thanks, tinker. 

I have found this article which I think is pretty clear: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/TV-on-your-computer-Understanding-TV-signals-and-TV-tuners

So apparently it should really be possible with a coaxial cable. But I would need a really long one. The wall socket and my bed are at the opposite corners of my apartment... About 10 m apart, but I guess the cable should be about 12, so I don't plug it out if I move the computer a bit.

[Tinker]

12 metre shoudn't be a problem, main thing is to get good quality coax. I would try &
find out just what kind of installation & source is in your apartment. Usually use
multimeter after making leads to avoid any short circuits.


Regards tinker.