Pocket PC CompactFlash TV Card

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.eopstech.com/pro1.html' target='_blank'>http://www.eopstech.com/pro1.html</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/tvcfn.jpg" /> <br /><br />"In the Pocket PC gadget world, there are already Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, digital camera, GPS receiver, bar code scanner, VGA presenter, radio and mobile phone add-on cards. There are TV tuner cards for PC, so where's the one for Pocket PC? That's why we created a TV CF Card that can let you watch real time color TV on-the-go with your Pocket PC. Arguably you can also download video using Wi-Fi at a wireless hotspot. But you have to pay subscription fee to service provider and the video content may not be free. Of course there is no download charge with our TV CF Card!<br /><br />Features:<br /><br />• TV tuner for the reception of over-the-air analog broadcast US NTSC UHF to VHF TV Channels 2-69 <br />• CompactFlash Type I I/O card <br />• Supports Microsoft Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC <br />• Telescopic rod antenna folds down when not in use <br />• RF-IN jack for connection to external antenna in poor reception area <br />• Displays in selectable portrait (208 x 160) or landscape (320 x 240) orientation (up to 30 frames per second) <br />• AV-IN jack for connection to camcorder, DVD player or video game console (NTSC / PAL composite video and audio signals) <br />• Stereo earphone jack for discrete listening (stereo earphones included) <br />• Powered by 4 x 1.5V AAA alkaline batteries or AC-DC adapter (not included) <br />• Carrying pouch (included)"<br /><br /> 8O Hmm. I'm not sure what to think of this - it might be really great, or really, really bad. We'll have to wait and see I guess - they have no announced retail partners and there's no way to order the product directly.

[KOMPRESSOR]

I wonder how good the reception is on that...

[doc]

Hmm, I think I'll stick with SnapStream (http://www.snapstream.com) 8) and my SprintPCS wireless connection for TV on my PPC.

[Mike Wagstaff]

There's also a PAL version (http://www.eopstech.com/pro2.html). Personally, I'd really like to see this one reach the market... well, the UK market at any rate. :)

[gorkon280]

It's about time! My PPC is Perfect for this. The screen is also much better in quality then the typical cheap LCD. I would actually be able to see it in the sun! YES!! If they added HDTV (OTA, not cable) to it and ran it in landscpae it would even be cooler!

[gorkon280]

I would also like a FM AND AM solution as well. That would cut my box count down to 2 all of the time. Now I have to carry a walkman, mp3 player and my pda. If a AM/FM card came out, then I would only have my PDA, the card which would be smaller and my MP3 Player. The TV card is a great thing too.

Few questions:

Does it have it's own battteries for the TV Tuner?

And


Does it route the sound to the PPC's headphone jack?

Whups! Just saw the headphones in the pic.....wht cant they route the sound internally?

Whups2! :D The specs says it runs off of 3 AA's....sounds fair!

[upplepop]

I wonder how good the reception is on that...

Even if the reception is awful, the AV-IN jack opens it up to all sorts of possibilities.

Portrait & landscape modes are pretty cool too.

Boy is that big though!

[sponge]

Heh, I saw the bit about AV in, and the first thing I thought of was some pour soul trying to hook an XBox up to this thing and attempting to play it on a car ride :P

[ricksfiona]

This is seriously interesting. I just might consider it.

[Richard OKane]

Anyone see a price yet?

[ux4484]

personally, I think this makes more sense than a FM Radio CF adapter (which I don't see the point of, as you can get a dedicated FM reciever the size of a teabag that lasts forever on one battery for a fraction of the cost of the FM CF cards), at least with the TV adapter on, the PDA is around the same size as most pocket size TV's...yet with a bigger screen than many of them......battery life would be the key.

[Programmer]

IWhups2! :D The specs says it runs off of 3 AA's....sounds fair!


I read 4 AAA's.

Also, doesn't anyone else think this looks HUGE? :sleeping:

[klinux]

If they added HDTV (OTA, not cable) to it and ran it in landscpae it would even be cooler!

Riiiiiight. Please explain how you would run a 16:9 720p or 1080i stream on a 320x240 screen which is only one of the many technically impossibilities to have HDTV on a handheld?

:twisted:

[Anthony Caruana]

The cynic in me thinks this is vaporware. But if I'm wrong I'll be buying one.

The image on the right side in the spac document is a definite photoshop job. Looks like a 2210 with some of the buttons obscured. Also, the image on the screen looks too good for a 320 by 240 LCD.

When I see it, I'll believe it.

[David C]

If this can capture and records video it would something. You can then use it as a VCR/portable TV/Video chat(with another camera) device.

[that_kid]

Hmm, I think I'll stick with SnapStream (http://www.snapstream.com) 8) and my SprintPCS wireless connection for TV on my PPC.

Fo Shizze, that's what I do all the time and it works great. Better than tv as cause I have 100's of channels.

[SandersP]

I wonder how good the reception is on that...

Even if the reception is awful, the AV-IN jack opens it up to all sorts of possibilities.

Portrait & landscape modes are pretty cool too.

Boy is that big though!

Yeah, I think the TV reception bit will be useless most of the time. The AV is what makes it worth it. plug in those cheapo DVD player or gaming console, it'll become a good traveling TV screen replacement.

[gorkon280]

If they added HDTV (OTA, not cable) to it and ran it in landscpae it would even be cooler!

Riiiiiight. Please explain how you would run a 16:9 720p or 1080i stream on a 320x240 screen which is only one of the many technically impossibilities to have HDTV on a handheld?

:twisted:

Never stopped Casio and Sony squeezing 640x480 on a 2 inch screen. The card itself could also do the scaling you'd need. Sure, it would not look as good as it does on a real HDTV monitor, but believe it or not it is possible. It's called rescaling. We do it all of the time when we reformat DVD's for viewing on a pocket pc. Sure, it's not as good as "the real thing" (tm by Coke), but it would at leat let you view the presentation. Sure, if you were trying to squeeze a 1024x768 desktop into a screen the size of my ipaq it would be unusable, but you'd be able to tell if it was a windows desktop. You would be able to tell what your wallpaper was. The point here is it's video...it can be reformatted for the display easily.

[organon]

Anyone see a price yet?
$99 according to Brighthand (http://www.brighthand.com/article/First_CF_TV_Tuner_Announced).

[SandersP]

Anyone see a price yet?
$99 according to Brighthand (http://www.brighthand.com/article/First_CF_TV_Tuner_Announced).

wow, this could be a big hit.

I'll buy a cheapie DVD portable DVD player along with it too.

[dean_shan]

This seems like I could have some useful aspect with that AV funtion.

[hakeashar]

Wouldn't that mean you could hook a playstation up to your ppc?

[kagayaki1]

Playstation, X-Box, whatever - that's exactly what it means. Nothing like hooking up a device that's 10 times as big as your "monitor."

&lt;/cynicism>

No, really, this is pretty cool. It takes the load of emulation off the device. I would probably drop an old SNES system under my driver's seat in my car and have a couple video outputs in the glove box for when traffic hits. Man, wouldn't the police...uh, I mean, the drivers next to me drop their jaw when they saw that. Coffee, cell phones, newspaper - forget that, give me the video games!

[manywhere]

I would like to see a DVB compatible TV tuner. A telescopic normal antenna will never get a good picture even if it supports NTSC (aka. Never The Same Color :lol: ) or PAL.

Now DVB-H, which the to-be-released Nokia PDA-Phone will support, sounds cool and should be possible for the Pocket PC to use. If my memory serves me right, DVB-H is especially formatted for handheld screens and utilizes IP datacasting technology.

Hauppauge (http://www.hauppauge.com), care to make one DVB-H CF TV Tuner for Pocket PCs? :wink:

Update: The definition for DVB-H is... (http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/dvb-h.cfm) and apparently DVB-H requires special apparatus at the mobile operator: "Finnish companies join forces for a commercial pilot for mobile broadcasting services" (http://www.edubourse.com/finance/actualites.php?idActus=13077) 8O

[GoldKey]

Anyone see a price yet?
$99 according to Brighthand (http://www.brighthand.com/article/First_CF_TV_Tuner_Announced).

wow, this could be a big hit.

I'll buy a cheapie DVD portable DVD player along with it too.

Don't most portable DVD players have a built in screen that is bigger than the one on your PPC?

[lonesniper]

Hmm, I think I'll stick with SnapStream (http://www.snapstream.com) 8) and my SprintPCS wireless connection for TV on my PPC.

Fo Shizze, that's what I do all the time and it works great. Better than tv as cause I have 100's of channels.

I would like a POLL created to see how many of us use Snapstream or another PVR software to watch recorded TV shows on our PPC's.
I think I have the best setup and the most geekie.....I have a PC in my friends basement in NJ, connected to cable internet and cable TV. It is programmed to record my favourite NBC shows and then each morning I download them via FTP to my machine in the UK (where I live now :( ). I then edit out all the commerials and encode the files in WM9 in the best quality to keep and then also for my PPC to watch on the bus. I also use pcAnywhere if I want to make any changes to the recording.

So far I have about 50Gb of programs :lol:

[SandersP]

Don't most portable DVD players have a built in screen that is bigger than the one on your PPC?

yes, but there are one or two models are simple player, a bit like CDROM player. Amazon has one cheapie model for $70 bucks or so.

not the best, or most portable, but it does what it suppose to do. Good enough for me.

[jornadaholic]

i think i remember somthing about sony releasing a portable cd player that could play dvd-rom so all you needed to do was hook it up to a tv and you had a dvd player im not sure if it was ever released but if it was then that would be a killer combo

[surur]

in the UK (where I live now :( )

Hey, its not that bad here! :)

Surur

[dbrahms]

there was once a similar idea incorporated into an Ipaq Sleeve...that was overe a year ago and we never saw it come out. if u ask me i wouldnt want to carry a PPC with this thing sitcking out especially with the added weight of 4 batteries. Would be nice for long trips...but too bad you cant use them on planes. Seems good for a long bus ride or car rider only

[that_kid]

I would like a POLL created to see how many of us use Snapstream or another PVR software to watch recorded TV shows on our PPC's.
I think I have the best setup and the most geekie.....I have a PC in my friends basement in NJ, connected to cable internet and cable TV. It is programmed to record my favourite NBC shows and then each morning I download them via FTP to my machine in the UK (where I live now :( ). I then edit out all the commerials and encode the files in WM9 in the best quality to keep and then also for my PPC to watch on the bus. I also use pcAnywhere if I want to make any changes to the recording.

So far I have about 50Gb of programs :lol:

I have a dedicated headless server along with a dedicated dss box setup in my network closet. I also have another setup at my parents house in jersey and I am going to ad another snapstream system which will share a media directory on a file server with the other local snapstream server, I have the main server setup to transcode the shows to 56k-100and move them over to my web server where I have snapstream 2.0 running so I can use the generated web page feature that they took out of version 3. With all this setup I can view pre-recorded shows without having to vpn in to my system. If I want to watch live tv then I vpn into my network to access my my main snapstream 3 server. It's really great setup and with both my netowrk and my parents network connected via ipsec, I can be her in va or in jersey and have access to all my media.

[lonesniper]

wow that is just as geeky as my set up. Maybe a little more. :) I have tried to stream TV via bluetooth to my PPC using Snapstream 3, but it cuts out after about 30 seconds. Haven't played with streaming over the internet yet.

Best thing I like is that I get Friends and ER way before they come to the UK. Also I need my 1000 episodes of Law and Order each week. It is not on Uk TV anymore.

And Surur for me England is as bad as all that.

[SoAlive]

Anyone see a price yet?
$99 according to Brighthand (http://www.brighthand.com/article/First_CF_TV_Tuner_Announced).

Maybe it's just me, but $99 seems a bit high, considering I could get a stand-alone handheld TV for around $75. Considering that we've already got the screen, I think the price should be better than a handheld TV.

And as much as I've wanted a device like this, this one looks too bulky for me.

Wouldn't it be cool to see a TV/FM receiver that uses Bluetooth to connect to a PDA?

[Don't Panic!]

That $99 dollar price is for us early adopters. This thing will be probably down to $50 after a few months, August maybe for the back to school sales.

Don't Panic!
Bobby

[JustinGTP]

The cynic in me thinks this is vaporware. But if I'm wrong I'll be buying one.

The image on the right side in the spac document is a definite photoshop job. Looks like a 2210 with some of the buttons obscured. Also, the image on the screen looks too good for a 320 by 240 LCD.

When I see it, I'll believe it.

1. They might get in trouble for using a 2215 so they hide it

2. Its a funny movie clip that I have on my PPC now, they all crash heheh


I want one :D

[Gremmie]

there was once a similar idea incorporated into an Ipaq Sleeve...that was overe a year ago and we never saw it come out.

Didn't Dale from PocketPCThoughts review one? I don't think we saw it here (Western Hemisphere) because it was only released in Asia and it had a bug when used on PPC 2002.