USB TV Card on my Laptop

[Simon]

One of this mickey mouse USB TV cards came with my LAPTOP. It is HD and does a great job.

Problem is it doesn't work with the supplied little antenna even though we are LOS to the towers.

Having to plug my laptop into the external house antenna kind of defeats the purpose of having it on the laptop and I was wondering what other things I can try to do to improve the reception.

Thanks team,

 

[HeXa]

em.... wire coathanger?

iirc, some rabbit ears should be enough

 

[Simon]

em.... wire coathanger?

iirc, some rabbit ears should be enough

For digital?

 

[ledd]

Hi Simon,

Not sure of the brand etc but my partner's parents bought something similar. It turned out it's not compatible with Windows. Strange, I know.

It may be worth speaking with the people you bought it from.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Simon]

That's not it. It works great with the house antenna socket - just the pissy little portable one that comes with it is not up to the job.

Can you get a better little one for digital?

 

[outbackjack]

Check out Ebay etc, You could try a car one maybe?? Or as suggested rabbit ears.

Analogue or digital shouldnt make much a difference, it recieves on UHF. Just signal decoding is different.

 

[HeXa]

For digital?

does depend on your area... capital cities and some other areas get the signals on the VHF band which is fine for rabbit ears.

Checked and assuming you are getting signals from Mt Sugarloaf (which transmits digital TV on UHF frequencies)... you might have to get a UHF antenna. Perhaps try a cheapie indoor one from Dick Smith... if no good, use the 14 day satisfaction refund.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

If you can't get a little antenna that works, and coathanger should pick up VHF digital (but not UHF), then consider this- stick the USB tuner into another computer in the house running as a media server, and pick up the tele transmission via wireless networking to the server.

 

[qaz]

I am having the same issues with mine

 

[Simon]

If you can't get a little antenna that works, and coathanger should pick up VHF digital (but not UHF), then consider this- stick the USB tuner into another computer in the house running as a media server, and pick up the tele transmission via wireless networking to the server.

How does using another computer change my antenna problem?

 

[BV]

Simon
I remember seeing some active and portable rabbit ears antenna but it requires power.
I would try another location in your house, it perhaps will give you more signal
and solve your problem.

Alternativelly have you got a VCR?
You can try radiating signal through your house by connecting a little UHF antenna to the RF out socket of the VCR and point it to where your laptop is.
It should work.

You said you have line of site with the tower.
Are you close to it?
Often towers radiate aiming at housing far away and not much signal is directed to the houses nearby because they don't normally need it.
Are you getting your signal from MT sugarloaf?
Cheers
Bill

 

[Simon]

I can see the Charlestown Towers and they are probably 4-5km away. Or if it is Mt Sugarloaf then I haven't got LOS.

My mate lives in the next suburb and he uses the little anetenna on his curtain rail but he is on the second floor

Sorry no VCR - does that really work? The RF out gives enough signal to drive an antenna?

Walked around the house and yard with the VCR last night and had no luck at all. I did notice that the cables are sensitive and when I plugged them into the wall I needed to twist them until a signal came in - perhaps it is just a quality issue with the little antenna? I am surprised that it wont work for me - I am no further from a signal than most people I would have thought?

Found very little mention of this problem online?

I am thinking I might take my gear to my mates house and try it with his stuff to see if I have a problem with anything in particular.

Went to DS last night. Really wanted a passive portable system rather than something bulky which needed plugging in. Wondered if an FM ribbon antenna wth a Balun might work? What do you think?

Thanks for everyone's help,

 

[WinstonWolfe]

How does using another computer change my antenna problem?

It would allow you to roam your home with your notebook (without an antenna) and receive tele transmission. The idea would be to have the server computer plugged into a coax outlet.

 

[BV]

If you can't get a little antenna that works, and coathanger should pick up VHF digital (but not UHF), then consider this- stick the USB tuner into another computer in the house running as a media server, and pick up the tele transmission via wireless networking to the server.

Winston,
Are you meant to run some special software to do this?
Also, how does it work?
Do you have full control of the TV card (having the ability to change channels remotely) or do you only receive pictures?
Cheers
Bill

 

[BV]

Simon,
Answers in bold below.
Cheers
Bill

Sorry no VCR - does that really work? The RF out gives enough signal to drive an antenna?
It should work although it depends on the type of VCR
and some of them might need to be turned off to pass all the TV channels through.

Walked around the house and yard with the VCR last night and had no luck at all. I did notice that the cables are sensitive and when I plugged them into the wall I needed to twist them until a signal came in - perhaps it is just a quality issue with the little antenna? I am surprised that it wont work for me - I am no further from a signal than most people I would have thought?
I am guessing that the antenna socket is a tiny 2.5mm socket?
Perhaps your plug is not making a good contact or the socket is enlarged/broken? this would probably explain why you can't receive anything
I am thinking I might take my gear to my mates house and try it with his stuff to see if I have a problem with anything in particular.
Sounds like a good idea
Went to DS last night. Really wanted a passive portable system rather than something bulky which needed plugging in. Wondered if an FM ribbon antenna wth a Balun might work? What do you think?
The FM antenna will cut off at 108Mhz so it won't be any good at UHF

Thanks for everyone's help,

 

[Arkay]

I'd say your best bet is a multifunction small antenna from dick smith. Those tiny antennas they provide with cards and usb tuners are useless. I have LOS to the tower as well and the small ones never work. A standard pair of rabbit ears does ok for a single tuner though. All m channels bar one are vhf though.

Unfortunately the idea of a digital tv tuner being transportable isn't really very good.

At home I run 4 digital tuners in a dedicated PC with it's own on roof antenna.

If you just want it for home use I would recommend setting it up in a dedicated position hooked up to a real antenna and using pvr software to record your programming. You can then watch it from any networked PC in the house. Or copy it to the laptop for later viewing. Best to do it that way anyway as you can skip the ads.

Software for straight recording based on a tv guide would be DVB Webscheduler (allows automated recording of scheduled content).

or if you want to get a bit more involved and have a complete media solution you could look at Microsoft Media Center. I run MCE at home and my machine dutifully automatically records all my programmed shows. You can also use it to view pictures, watch DVD's, watch downloaded content and listen to music, all via remote control.

I think the smallest antenna you'll get away with that might work would be a pair of rabbit ears.

Cheers,

Arkay.

 

[Simon]

I am in a rental house so loathe to install more outlets. We have a kitchen one and my laptop works there - I tried to record ER last night using MCE and I woke to find just 20min exactly recorded. Turned off for some reason so I need to learn why. Also need to learn how to explain it to the ER fan I am married to

Plus she wont let me leave it set up at the kitchen on a permanent basis.

I think I will buy a splitter and just leave it permanently on at the entertainment unit in the lounge. I can plug in my laptop when I need to and record what I want. Just have to work out how to get more than 20min. KISS suits me.

 

[Arkay]

With MCE the best advice I can give is to set it up and use it without telling anyone for a month before introducing it to the family. It can be a dodgy beast to tame and the last thing you want is a poor WAF (Wife acceptance factor)

There is an Australian media center support site if you need any help.

Cheers,

Arkay.