Television. It is a big part of our lives. We get our news and entertainment from TV. And if you travel, sometimes you might want to take television with you. Or, maybe you want to watch during your commute to work.
I received the Hauppauge WinTV Aero-m for review. The Aero was released in January during CES, but has not yet hit commercial store shelves. It is available right now only from the Hauppauge website. So, it was a privilege to be one of the first to try it out. The Aero-m design is very similar to a USB key. It is extremely portable. It is about 2″ by 1″. It has a cap to protect the USB connector. The extendable antennae tucks neatly and securely into the other side.
Included in the package is an adapter to allow hookup for cable TV when available.
Features
WinTV-Aero-m:
live TV on the go for your netbook or notebook
- Receive the new ATSC M/H Mobile Digital TV broadcasts in the U.S. Tune in to live local news, traffic information, weather, sporting events or entertainment programs using your Windows based netbook or notebook.
- Watch live digital TV in a window on your notebook screen. Use your Windows based netbook or notebook, check your e-mail or your Facebook account, while you watch live over-the-air local TV. The WinTV-Aero-m delivers live mobile TV in a window on your netbook or notebook!
- Easy to install: just plug the WinTV-Aero-m into a USB port on your netbook or notebook computer, and in a few minutes you can scan for the available ATSC M/H broadcasts in your area!
Also for HD over-the-air ATSC TV.
WinTV-Aero-m also has a built-in high definition TV receiver for live, over-the-air, ATSC HD broadcasts. Watch free HD TV on your PC, notebook or netbook at home or when you travel. ATSC digital TV gives you the best video and audio quality of any type of TV broadcast!
Installation
I decided to install it on my new baby, an HP Pavilion dm1z 11.6 inch netbook. Since the netbook has no CD or DVD drive, I copied the contents of the installation disk to a USB key. Installation was fairly easy. On my that computer, I opted not to install the full WinTV suite and to instead use it with Windows Media Center. I ran the Media Center setup which took roughly 10 minutes to configure the Live TV settings and search for channels.
I also plugged it into my All-in-one desktop computer and installed the full WinTV suite. The WinTV suite allows you to customize many options including parental controls, sound output, screenshots, and more. The until actually picked up more channels on the netbook. However, I’m sure if I move the antennae around a bit and rescan, it would find more on the desktop as well.
As with all TV tuners that I have tried, the signal was iffy on some channels. It all depends on location and signal strength. Fox came in pretty great whether I was at home or work. Some channels I could not tune in at all. This is not the fault of the device at all though.
Pros
- Small, portable unit
- Easy to setup
- Great design
Cons
- The included remote control does not yet work. I was told that by the time the units hit retail shelves there will be an update to enable the remote to function.
- Not much support for the product on the website yet (or I would have known that the remote was not intended to function and saved myself some time. 🙂 )
Overall, I think that the WinTV Aero-m is a genius device. Not only can it be used when out and about, it can be easily plugged into your desktop computer and used as a TV Tuner as an alternative to installing a PCI card. I think after some tweaks (like getting the remote working), it will be solid. I also wonder if there are any plans in the works to boost the over the air signals so that we don’t have to fight so hard to get them to come in. I also fight with channels on my desktop at home too where I have a WinTV-HVR-1600 that I purchased a while ago with an RCA external antennae attached. I also have that one hooked up directly to my Comcast cable too though, and it works great. No, this has nothing to do with Hauppauge… I just wonder.
The WinTV Aero-m is priced at $59.95 in the Hauppauge Web Store.
Disclosure: I was provided the Aero-m in exchagne for this review. All opinions are my own.
Thanks for this review, I was trying to find more info about it. I am curious how it works with Windows Media Center and if you can use the record feature with this device.
Thats a pretty nifty little gadget, hadnt heard of it- great review!