AutumnWave 'OnAir' HDTV PC Tuner Ships
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 9/4/2006
New Bloomfield, PA. — PC peripherals supplier AutumnWave, based here, announced the retail rollout of an outboard TV tuner designed to easily bring over-the-air DTV, analog NTSC and unencrypted QAM digital cable signals to desktop and laptop PCs without the need of an internal tuner card.
Called OnAir HDTV-GT ($179 suggested retail), the tuner system employs a small black box with an attached antenna. The box connects via any USB2.0 input to the computer.
The tuner incorporates LG Electronics latest (fifth generation) ATSC/NTSC/unencrypted QAM tuner chip and nVidia PureVideo decoder.
Users install supplied software to control the device (change channels) and to operate supplied digital video recording (DVR) software that enables storing TV programs (including high-definition shows) on the computer's hard drive.
The included software will allow users to schedule the PC system to tune to a channel and record a program for later playback.
The software also offers other typical DVR functionality, including on-the-fly program pausing, rewinding and fast forwarding without dropping frames.
The package includes the OnAir-GT tuner, and antenna adapter, mini USB cable, remote control with 2 AAA batteries, A/V input cable, getting started booklet, installation CD and carrying case.
Also included is a small telescoping antenna, but for difficult reception areas, the OnAir HDTV-GT includes a coaxial antenna input for connection to larger over-the-air antennas or unencrypted digital cable signals.
