ALDI tv on a laptop

[Adria 5]

hi ALDI are doing a kit to watch tv on your laptop for £19.99

Link Removed from thursday 8th may

ray

 

[Road Runner]

Ta Ray:thumb:

 

[Adria 5]

Ta Ray:thumb:

hi john check the spec before you buy plus check the support forum there are numourous problems worth a read john HERE

ray oh:

 

[Adria 5]

hi just to add got[ called away] the mrs bought from aldi today BUT its not compatible with my old lap top needs a pentium 4 with 500+ ram my only has 256 also after going on the website support forum there seems to issues with software and signal strength so i took it back not worth the hassle oh:

ray worth a try

 

[camcondor]

Most of these kits seem to give disappointing results as the signal strength is generally poor unless you cobble up the outside antenna to the laptop which isn't always feasible. Most of them are very cheap kits from the East and you seem to get what you pay for or less :Sad:
Good idea but try to find a bigger branded name version rather than the ultra cheap generics in this case. Or better still, watch TV on a telly / freeview receiver.

Laurie

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[pappajohn]

Or better still, watch TV on a telly / freeview receiver.

Laurie

never thought of that. oh:

 

[shortcircuit]

Absolutely no problem. Plugged in, loaded software and off we went.

I originally tuned in using aerial provided and found a few channels missing. Plugged into house aerial and tuned them all in. Use with aerials provided although you do have to fiddle about to get best reception.

It does require to a have a good strong signal but for under £20 can't be bad.

My main concern is that in a few years time we will all be changing over to digital. My first attempt with this unit was in an area that even my other freeview receiver got nothing. I can see a delay in the changeover from analogue to digital until they get he coverage sorted out

 

[Munchie]

Hi, I bought one of these. Supplied ariels are useless as I live in a weak signal area. Nevertheless I put a splitter on my external ariel and I can now get more channels than on my Sony Bravia TV. In my view it's worth the £20 just to use as a tiny freeview box. I can now watch one program on my TV and record another on my pooter. :thumb:

 

[gypsylady]

USB TV Dongle

Check out dabs.com - Laptops, Components, MP3 players, Software, Digital Cameras and Link Removed.

I use these sites for all my computer supplies and I've seen a dongle for £14.99.

I originally bought mine for £30 ages ago, it works fine at home on either desktop or laptop.

Aerial is tiny, and reception depends on area, but any aerial lead can be attached.

June

 

[Wilbury]

Hi, I bought one of these. Supplied ariels are useless as I live in a weak signal area. Nevertheless I put a splitter on my external ariel and I can now get more channels than on my Sony Bravia TV. In my view it's worth the £20 just to use as a tiny freeview box. I can now watch one program on my TV and record another on my pooter. :thumb:

Hi ksebruce,
I bought a Sony Bravia TV a couple of months ago. I have to say that I am a little dissapointed in the picture quality and the reception strength.
I would not have bought it if I had known.
Wilbury

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[camcondor]

Asda have a really tiny Freeview "box" available for under £20 which plugs into a TV SCART socket directly - whole size of the gizmo is about 4 inches x 2 inches x 1 inch. Useful where space is very limited and no need for cables / extra footprint / yet another electronics box etc.Obviously still needs the external aerial connection to work.

Mind you their own-name brand Freeview box isn't big either - about 10"x6"x1"- and is also cheap - under £15 when I last looked. The laptop TV gizmos, if you can get them to work on your computer, are cute gadgets to play with(specially if you like gadgets as much as many of us seem to!!!) if you are in a strong signal area or have access to a good aerial, but are more or less redundant really, given the massive price drop and small Freeview "boxes" available. At under £20, if you have the spare cash, they won't break the bank if they aren't as successful as you had hoped.

Laurie

 

[Thepips]

Asda have a really tiny Freeview "box" available for under £20 which plugs into a TV SCART socket directly - whole size of the gizmo is about 4 inches x 2 inches x 1 inch. Useful where space is very limited and no need for cables / extra footprint / yet another electronics box etc.Obviously still needs the external aerial connection to work.

Mind you their own-name brand Freeview box isn't big either - about 10"x6"x1"- and is also cheap - under £15 when I last looked. The laptop TV gizmos, if you can get them to work on your computer, are cute gadgets to play with(specially if you like gadgets as much as many of us seem to!!!) if you are in a strong signal area or have access to a good aerial, but are more or less redundant really, given the massive price drop and small Freeview "boxes" available. At under £20, if you have the spare cash, they won't break the bank if they aren't as successful as you had hoped.

Laurie

Hi Laurie,
Sadly the SCART freeview gizmos have their own mains power supply and a separate lead for the remote control sensor. We tested a few to see if they could be run of the leisure batteries. We didn't find a single one that ran properly, the Sharp just went bang when we plugged it in!
If you've got an analogue TV then you may as well use a cheap freeview box but again, most are 240v. Of course, you need a tv in the first place!
That's the biggest advantage of a laptop, it's self contained and battery powered giving tv and video recording in one small neat package. It's how we did it for over a year and we were very happy with it. Mind you, we were selling them at the time so I really had to use one didn't I?

Regards
Doug

 

[camcondor]

Personally, the laptop option isn't one I would ever advocate as the size of the screen is rather small compared to the TVs we have used in our van - not all that keen on travelling with a 17" Powerbook, so tend to take a much smaller laptop on our travels. Sound on most smaller laptops is also quite tinny unless you use external speakers. But its a personal choice in the end, one that I'm glad we never were "forced" to use. I don't mind watching the odd item on my laptop but using it as a TV constantly would have been quite different.

The tiny scart "boxes" I saw didn't seem to have large external power supplies, but I suppose these differ from manufacturer to manufacturer and there are constant improvements on the go.

TVs with inbuilt digital receivers seem the best option in a van to me, if finances can stand it, but little electronic gadgets are always alluring, whether one "needs" them or not!!

Laurie