Thread: HDTV Over the Air for your CarPC!!

just from experience it is hard to get HD over VGA. there is a noticeable difference between watching HD over VGA and DVI. which begs the question, are there any monitors that have DVI support?

You can easily get HDTV signal on VGA or DVI monitors, the difficult part is the quality of the signal you get which is affected by the antenna you use. There is a difference when watching on a 24 or 32 LCD monitor...but with our 7-8 inc monitors you probably can't even tell.

For those wanting an internal quality internal "mini PCI" there is now one I have tested and works great. It is MiniPCI HD TV tuner LR351" branded under Aopen name but not sure who manufctures it. Included software is Arcsoft Total Media. Haven't found a plugin to embed into Road Runner as yet though. Has great picture HD and SD (digital/analog) from the enclosed magnetic mount antenna. Here is where I puchased from (Received 2 days after ordering with good packaging) http://www.antonline.com/p_90.MPC46.0310-CN_274474.htm . I live in a major metro area and TV transmiters a reasonably close approximately 25 miles, works good for the last couple of weeks I've been using it, no freezes or crashing of the PC.

Originally Posted by AcuraTLFan

There is a difference when watching on a 24 or 32 LCD monitor...but with our 7-8 inc monitors you probably can't even tell.

Well, there is not just the difference in resolution, the other differences are the way that the signal is sent and what is sent. Regular TV is an analog signal while HD is digital. There are no snowy pictures with OTA HDTV (but if the signal is weak you do get a broken up picture). The other thing is that some stations broadcast multiple channels, so there can be broadcasts that you never know are there. Our PBS station here for instance has the standard analog channel, plus two digital channels - one that is identical in programming as the analog station, and an HD only channel where all programming is in HD and is different programming. There are a few stations with two or three broadcasts here - something you can't get with a regular analog card. Also, HD broadcasting is in 16:9 format. So are a lot of our LCDs, so you are taking advantage of the wider format as well.

It still surprises me how many people are unaware of OTA HDTV. My understanding is that it is the cleanest HDTV that you can get, save maybe the newest HD-DVD and BlueRay, because even the HD broadcasts coming over digital cable or satellite are somewhat compressed so that it can be piped down easier.

darag, my comment you quoted was a response to Hopjet question about HD signal on a VGA vs a DVI monitor. With a small 7-8 in monitor, VGA or DVI signal isn't gonna make a difference. But with a larger monitor you might notice some noise from the VGA compared to a DVI connection.

I'm actually NOT suprised that people are unaware of OTA HDTV even though it's better. How many people are aware of HD Radio? Until the technology and products reaches a higher percentage in mainstream, the general public isn't going to know about it. DVD was released in 1995, but didn't hit mainstream until 2000. Same with HD DVD/Blu Ray. HD DVD been out for 1 year now, and I'm sure 90% of the population still doesn't know what it is.

AcuraTLFan, a little misunderstanding. I wasn't saying you weren't aware of OTA HD quality, it was just a general comment. I'm surprised since analog is going away in the US in the next couple of years entirely and people are ingoring it (probably cuz most people have some cable or satellite service).

And I misunderstood your comment. I thought you were talking about analog vs hd on small screen.

OK to answer your Q

Originally Posted by nobb

For those of you with TV in your car...when do you actually have the time to watch it? HD probably only works near the city, so you cant use it while on a long road trip. Or is this TV in the car thing just for the passengers and the cool factor?

yes HDTV you have to be close to the tower but the tuner that moahdib says picks up normal TV as well as standard def TV (not HD but like analog except no static), so you can use it for road trips

Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

just wanna confirm that you can not watch TV while moving? Hard to justify the cost just to sit in my car and watch TV lol.

yes you can because you run it off a computer and as everyone knows those aren't hard to hack seeing as there's nothing on the computer saying "NO TV FOR YOU WHILE YOU DRIVE" but if you crash and die because you wanted to watch TV I assume no liability for your actions

No idea about the quality of this thing...but if you have a PCI slot avilable ...for $10, why not?

Spektre

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815260007

Originally Posted by AcuraTLFan

Hey moahdib, which Amplified car antenna are you using? Does it pick up DTV signal well?

Sorry for the late *** response...

I am using a regular car TV amplified antenna..the ones u just mount to the windshield and has "sticky" antenna. Works great so far. I get at least 10 channels in LA metro area with no problems.
I got some video on it too:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMGpudWLk6s[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GX2oUGn4RI[/media]