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Post Info TOPIC: digital tv on laptop
bill12


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Hi. I have just recieved a gadget thet gives me 26 digital channels on my laptop! Its like the wireless dongle I use to get internet on the road, and all you need is a suitable aerial. another good thing is you can copy tv to your hard drive, and burn the data to a cd or dvd.A booster is handy , but you don,t need it in good reception areas.

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pricey43


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How about some details Bill.

Where did you get it and what is it called????????

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bill12


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Its called Blaze tv, and I got it from an ebay supplyer. It seems to work, though I haven,t had it out in the bush. It works on Magnetic island, where I live.you load the software, attach the dongle at a spare usb port, and connect the aerial. Do a search, and any digital staions in the area come up.I have a toshiba laptop running win vista.Cheers, Bill

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Hylda&Jon


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There are many brands of these on the market, we have 2, one for each computer we travel with. There are many that are not good quality, I have found you get what you pay for as the cheap ones don't work well in some country towns. To be safe you should look over $100 for a good one. I have found the 'EyeTV' brand to be the best & their software is very user friendly, also Compro & Pinnacle are other good brands. If travelling a lot in the country then it's best to get a Hybrid type which picks up analogue as well as digital TV as many towns haven't gone over to digital yet & also some caravan parks like Mt Warning c/p let you plug a lead they provide into their own TV reception which is also analogue.
Cheers
Jon

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Sunday 11th of April 2010 04:42:42 PM

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Sunday 11th of April 2010 07:22:19 PM

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Rolly


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I have an Elgato "eyetv 250" which is an hybrid analogue and digital unit suitable for mac and microslops.
It seems to be quite the 'bees knees'.
Very happy with it.

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milo


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I have a toshiba laptop too , and blaze tv, my usb dongle thingy is a mobidtv dvb-t what ever the heck that all means,.. its only for at home at the moment, havent tried while away, i use it to record tv on to the laptop..



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Ironman162


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What do you use for an antenna? I have the same setup but haven't managed to get reception in rural areas. Eventually I gave up in disgust and invested in a satellite tv system using a small dish/decoder combo instead. I still have the old gear, it is not VISTA or WINDOWS 7 compatable but works well on Windows XP and I have a good amplified antenna available too.

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milo


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i just use the an ordinanry lead from my house antenna

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bill12


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I think a dedicated digital aerial is the go as I have installed on on my house and it made a big difference. I am in a fringe area and have a signal booster on the aerial.I get a lot of digital channels and 10 am channels as well. Am about to install one on my mates boat, which is sort of like a caravan, and will tell you how it goes. Bill



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Allara


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Would this be a better option than the TV with a set top box? I'm not that technically minded but would like to get the best advice for picking up TV. Or do you attach the TV to a computer???

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PeterD


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Allara - you do not need a TV if you have this set up. The plug in device is just a TV tuner. It picks up TV signals, processes them and supplies information to your computer. The computer in turn displays this information on its screen as the TV programme you wish to view. (It works a little like a set top box that supplies a picture to your analogue TV set.)

Any store that sells lap-top computers will show you how it is done.

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Allara


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Hi Peter

I was reading about the satellite, digital aerials and 'dongles'? Is there a 'one stop shop' for the technically challenged to get set up totally?

I need to be able to plug it in and have it work. I am able to get to Canberra (2hrs) or Sydney (4hrs)
Thanks Allara

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Hobbit


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Im the same as you Allara, I don't want to stand in a store and learn about these set ups, I want to hear how to do it and see how to do it. Im very interested in learing where I can acess such advise. Thanks Hobbit

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bill12


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If you have a friend with a laptop-tv setup, all you do is turn up with a six pack(xxxx gold is my prefered), and get them to go through the actions in setting it up. I have people doing this on various different topics all the time. Bill

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Allara


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Hello again

Went into Dick Smith in Goulburn and asked about the dongle and if I needed an antenna, The very young kid, had no idea.

Spoke to a more mature woman and she was suggesting something called Aurora? with some sort of box and a satellite.

She said it could be difficult to set up, something about having a GPS to get the right angulation, and costs around $800.

Does this sound right?

Cheers
Allara   hmm

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bill12


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You do need an aerial, preferablely a boosted on that is made for digital tv, and a laptop with xp or vista. She is trying to sell you a sattelite setup which is entirely different to the laptop tv setup. Let the buyer beware. The retailer will always try to sell you the more expensive item.Thats how they make money.Find a retailer who know what they are talking about. I hope this helps you. Bill

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Hobbit


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Thankx for the tip about finding a friend with a laptop-tv, now all I need is to find one. Six pack sounds really good though.

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Sue Cropley
jimricho


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Unless one wishes to use his/her computer to "capture" TV programs I fail to see the point of using a laptop just to watch TV. I have a quite inexpensive small HD digital TV with built in DVD player that works fine in the van. It also works fine in my bedroom where it lives when I'm not out on the road. Maybe I'm missing something here?

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Allara


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What kind of aerial do you have, and do you pick up TV out in the sticks?

Cheers
Allara



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Bucko


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If you go into Harvey Norman in Goulburn, of all places, there is a tech guy there who is very good, I've spoken to him before and he was very helpful, I'm from Goulburn originally, I can put you in touch with someone to help you if you can't get help from Harvey Norman, I use a portable aerial just thrown onto the roof and it tunes perfectly, as long as there is digital in an area, it will work, most tuners have analong tuning as well, it always depends on what's availble in the area, good luck.

Buck.

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lockycol


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Any new receiver & aerial suggestions for getting free-to-air digital TV on a Windows 7 laptop anywhere in Australia, incl. Tassie?

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Nomad_Nev


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I am a tech guru and more than willing to work for a few beers :)

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Cruising Cruze


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@ Allara


Now you know why the Dick Smith shops are going broke
They have no idea what they are selling and of what the customer wants

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