I Want my PPC TV: CompactFlash TV Tuner

[Anthony Caruana]

<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-1.jpg" /> <br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> CompactFlash TV Tuner<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.eopstech.com/eops/index.html">Eops Technology</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.eopstech.com/eops/index.html">Eops Technology</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $99.00 USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Microsoft® Pocket PC 2002 Microsoft® Windows® MobileTM 2003 for Pocket PC. Compatibile with the following devices: HP® iPAQTM h2210, HP® iPAQTM h5100 / h5400 / h5500 series with CF expansion jacket, DELL® AXIMTM X5, Toshiba® e740, Toshiba® e800 / e805 (QVGA display), Mitac® Mio 558, ASUS® A620BT, Fujitsu® Pocket LOOX 600. NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HP® iPAQ h3800 / h3900 series<br /><b>Specifications:</b> 116g (4 oz) with 4 AA batteries 2.2 inches (56mm) width x 2.7 inches (68mm) length x 1.2 inch (30mm) thickness (dimensions outside standard CF Slot)<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Easy to use;<br /><li>Lots of connectivity options to other AV devices.<b>Cons:</b><li>Very large;<br /><li>Poor reception with built in antenna.<b>Summary:</b><br />The Eops Technology CompactFlash TV Tuner promises to let you watch TV while on the go with your Pocket PC. Now, I'm a bit of a skeptic; my portable TV at home doesn't get a decent picture without an external antenna so I wondering if <a href="http://www.eopstech.com/eops/index.html">Eops Technology</a> are able to deliver on their promise.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Let's Tune it In</b></span><br />The Eops TV Tuner is an easy piece of hardware to get going. Just load the driver (less than 700K) and voila! There's no application to start up. All you need to do is plug the card into a CF slot and the software automatically launches.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-10.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figure 1: The software starts up automatically when the Eops CF card is inserted.</i><br /><br />All you then need to do is tap one of the channel tuner buttons (the ones that look like a "&lt;" or ">") to find a station. While writing this review Eops updated the driver software so that you can now bookmark stations so that you no longer needs to rescan the entire spectrum whenever you plug the card in.<br /><br /><span><b>Using the Card</b></span><br />There's not much to using this card. In my experience this seems to be easier to get going than its desktop PC counterparts. The user interface is quite spartan with only a handful of buttons. You can toggle between different video inputs and full-screen landscape mode. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-11.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figure 2: Go Ricki! Full screen mode takes advantage of the entire Pocket PC screen.</i><br /><br />There's also a Quality toggle that can improve the picture quality. However, I found that this degraded performance leading to slower screen refreshes.<br /><br /><span><b>Range and Reception</b></span><br />Given that the Eops is designed to be a portable TV solution for Pocket PC users you'd expect that it would have reasonable reception. Sadly, that was not my experience. I used the Eops in a couple of different suburbs in Melbourne and could not get any picture when using it indoors. Outdoors the story was better, but the tiny, in-built antenna is just too small. Fully extended it is only a few inches long.<br /><br /><span><b>Ins and Outs</b></span><br />The Eops TV Tuner doesn't just let you watch television. You can easily connect your VCR or DVD player using the supplied cables.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-2.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figure 3: Connecting other AV devices and an external aerial is easy.</i><br /><br />The RF connector makes it easy to link to an external antenna using the supplied 3.5 mm to Coaxial adapter. However, why you'd want to do that is a little beyond me as it seriously undermines the device's portability.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-7.jpg" /> <br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-8.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figures 4 and 5: Given the plethora of connecting cables there's almost no AV device that Eops TV Tunber can't accomodate.</i><br /><br />In order to listen to the audio for your TV show, you'll need to connect a set of headphones directly to the Eops. With its own earphone socket and<br />volume control, complete with mute, this is a simple affair. I found that the sound quality was "good enough". The Eops ships with a set of headphones but they're low quality. While I'm no great audiophile I went straight to my own headphones.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-3.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figure 6: The Eops doesn't make use of your Pocket PC's inbuilt audio.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Power</b></span><br />The Eops looks to me that it could be a real power guzzler. The upside is that the Eops runs off its own steam. The main reason the Eops is so large and heavy is that it needs four AA batteries. This is the largest contributing factor to the size of the Eops.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/caruana-may04-eopstv-4.jpg" /> <br /><i>Figure 7: A full tank lasts about 3 hours but battery life will depend on what batteries you choose.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />The Eops CompactFlash TV Tuner promises a great deal but doesn't quite deliver. While the software is reasonable the hardware's poor range and reception prevent it from being a really great Pocket PC accessory.

[GoldKey]

Is their a driver for the PC? Might be nice for traveling with a laptop.

[dean_shan]

I could see using this for playing Nintendo on the go. I like how it has video imputs.

[manywhere]

The main problem is that the antenna is less than optimal for recieving TV broadcasts in the UHF and VHF ranges.
I tried using a similar antenna with a Nokia Mediamaster 120T (DVB-T box) and the reception indoors was really poor! :| However, as soon as I put the antenna out of the window, the signal improved oh-so-much! :) The reception wasn't error-free (too many trees here -- I need to buy a chainsaw... :lol: ) but you got much more than using the analog signal.

The hare-antenna (take the above antenna times two) is already better, but not optimal still for some frequencies. :roll:

[ricksfiona]

Uh, the thing is enormous! The only time I would use it to watch t.v. is during the working hours, and there is nothing but junk on during that time. No thanks...

[GoldKey]

You might be able to unscrew the antenna and go get a larger replacement from radio shack.

[Jason Lee]

I would really like to have one of these. Mostly for the novelty factor. Hardware and software looks a little low budget still. Kinda pricey too. Still want one though. :)

[William]

NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HP® iPAQ h3800 / h3900 series
Does that include 3800 and 3900 iPAQs with a CF sleeve? If so, why?

[Jason Lee]

NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HP® iPAQ h3800 / h3900 series
Does that include 3800 and 3900 iPAQs with a CF sleeve? If so, why?

I was actually looking at this a few days ago. There is and explination on their site, something about the CF sleeve interface being slighly different on the 3800 and 3900 ipaqs, which doesn't suprise me. The video really gets degraded for some reason.


Edit:

I found it in their FAQ.


Please could you explain why it is not compatible with IPAQ 3800 / 3900 but compatible with newer handhelds?

While we try to make our CF TV card compatible with as many of the current range of Pocket PCs as possible, therein does lie some difficulty that prevents us from being 'universally' compatible. The IPAQ 3800 and 3900, popular models indeed, are the ones that we cannot overcome technically. The reason is that the high speed digitized video signal from our TV CF Card becomes unstable while passing through the interface of the IPAQ 3800 and 3900.

[Sven Johannsen]

I could see using this for playing Nintendo on the go. I like how it has video imputs.

If that's your goal....http://www.lifeview.com.tw/html/products/information_appliance/flygrabber_cf.htm

[Jonathan1]

BAH! Forget that! Give me my direct TV!!

[Anthony Caruana]

The main problem is that the antenna is less than optimal for recieving TV broadcasts in the UHF and VHF ranges.
I tried using a similar antenna with a Nokia Mediamaster 120T (DVB-T box) and the reception indoors was really poor! :| However, as soon as I put the antenna out of the window, the signal improved oh-so-much! :) The reception wasn't error-free (too many trees here -- I need to buy a chainsaw... :lol: ) but you got much more than using the analog signal.

The hare-antenna (take the above antenna times two) is already better, but not optimal still for some frequencies. :roll:

Just checked the unit I have and the antenna does not seem to be removeale. But, as I mentioned in the review, you can connect an external antenna through the "RF In" socket.

[jim s]

...the antenna does not seem to be removeale.

Usually the problem isn't getting something removed, it is getting it put back on! :razzing:

[dean_shan]

I could see using this for playing Nintendo on the go. I like how it has video imputs.

If that's your goal.... (http://www.lifeview.com.tw/html/products/information_appliance/flygrabber_cf.htm)

Yeah but having TV built-in would be cool tough.

[enemy2k2]

eops homepage... main changing image... pic with the side view of the person aiming the gun at the screen... trannie?

[jeffmd]

how cable ready (ie what can it show that is unscrambled) is this? I have cable in my bedroom but no tv. I have a pc accross the room and tried using a tv tuner, but the 17 inch screen was hard to view and such from the bed. I'd love a bedside tv for like when im dosing off asleep or something.

[serpico]

Xbox baby, here I come! :lol:
I just picked up the PocketPC mag June/July edition and this was on the front cover along with a small article and HP2210 included. The CF slot is good for so much more!

[Anthony Caruana]

Is their a driver for the PC? Might be nice for traveling with a laptop.

I don't believe that there's PC driver avaialble.

[William]

@ Jason Lee
Thanks for the info!

[wocket]

Quite nice would be good over here at the moment with the European cup football (soccer).

I wonder if an aluminum case would help with the reception :D

[GoldKey]

how cable ready (ie what can it show that is unscrambled) is this? I have cable in my bedroom but no tv. I have a pc accross the room and tried using a tv tuner, but the 17 inch screen was hard to view and such from the bed. I'd love a bedside tv for like when im dosing off asleep or something.

You could probably buy a 13-19 inch TV for less that would do the job better.

[Anthony Caruana]

how cable ready (ie what can it show that is unscrambled) is this? I have cable in my bedroom but no tv. I have a pc accross the room and tried using a tv tuner, but the 17 inch screen was hard to view and such from the bed. I'd love a bedside tv for like when im dosing off asleep or something.

You could probably buy a 13-19 inch TV for less that would do the job better.

Yeah...I'd agree with Goldkey. That said, I can't see why you couldn't connect this to your cable feed. I assume that your cable decoder has either an RF/coaxial output of an RCA output.

[foldedspace]

It looks like a rejected Dr. Who prop. But I do dig the Generic Font on 'TV'. If they made PPC peripherals in the 70's, this would be it.

:mrgreen:

[jizmo]

I see number of problems here. All the issues that were mentioned earlier, plus the fact that TV is absolute crap. I'm having trouble finding anything worth watching at home, except when there's a decent movie on, which happens rarely.

I can't see reason for anyone wanting to have this for that price, its additional battery costs, bluky size and bad picture quality when you can pack in all your favorite movies and watch them with media player. With better quality. And pause them when you want.

For that $99 you can get pretty hefty CF memory card to store those flicks.

/jizmo

[Cybrid]

Is their a driver for the PC? Might be nice for traveling with a laptop.

I don't believe that there's PC driver avaialble.

Actually, last i talked to them...laptop drivers were being developed......

[x999x]

The little TV Icon used as artwork for this article at the top of the homepage is actually property of a design firm.

The TV was an example of their flash prowess, and by clicking the little arrows on either side of the "space invader" changed what kind of demo/channel you were on. Other channels included quick video clips, a password protected area, space invaders, and a scrambled 70's porn transmission.

You could also click the fly which occasionally landed on the TV for a special bonus area.

I have little to add to this review, other than to say give credit where credit is due.

[Jason Dunn]

The little TV Icon used as artwork for this article at the top of the homepage is actually property of a design firm...I have little to add to this review, other than to say give credit where credit is due.

You're right, I screwed up there. I normally use Hemera Photo Objects, a royalty-free collection of images to get the images I need, but I've been having trouble getting all three collections installed and took the lazy way out, which was using Google images to find something appropriate. I shouldn't have done that, and you're right to call me on it. I'll remove the ad graphic and be sure to use my Hemera collection in the future. Thanks for keeping me accountable!