OnAir USB HDTV-GT - Conclusion

Conclusion

The OnAir USB HDTV-GT is a remarkable piece of hardware.  I liked it so much it’s easily one of the best products I’ve reviewed. It even managed to cure my New Year's lazy spell.  Amazing.  The GT is able to tune just about anything, cable, digital, and the soon to be extinct, analog.  The install was simple and quick, just the software and a USB cable.  I've had worse from mouse installs.  Once it was installed, it pulled in a surprising number of digital channels, and I was flipping channels on the remote in no time.

A few downsides that I noted aren't really the GT's fault, but with the TV stations themselves.  It's almost like some of them resent the death of analog and are just phoning it in.  The three big networks here, ABC, CBS, and NBC, all put out low quality content stuffed on the digital channels.  Of course, when the content truly is ATSC HD, it looks awesome.  All I can say is, I'm definitely supporting PBS from now on.

If you’re using the OTA signals, then you’re going to be fiddling with the GT's antenna a bit to get the best signal.  While this isn’t bad, it’s just that in the analog days you could tolerate a little static and still watch TV.  The digital TV don’t play that.  It’s on or it’s off.  You either have enough signal or you don’t.  We found, however, the breakpoint for the GT is about 18db’s of signal.  The key to getting the best reception, of course, is to have a mondo-honking antenna, preferably with an amplifier (like a Terk or Winegard), to get the widest selection of stations, the strongest signals, and the least amount stuttering.  And, to borrow a quote, it's a great way to stay in shape.

The GT’s software is fairly stable, even if I was running a beta driver.  It is a little bit clunky in spots.  Some parts of the software, particularly the channel search and selection, are old-school, Win98 looking, and not the warm and fuzzy Mac looking I would like to see.  The important part is that it is stable and it responds very quickly to either mouse or the remote.  There ain’t much bloat here.  I also noticed some blocking during fast motion on some programmes, which probably aren't the GT's fault.  Also be prepared for the GT's insatiable apetite for disk space while recording or using the DRV function.

Overall, the GT provides you with free HDTV on your computer, with monster features, in a small, USB powered, transportable unit.  If you're not going whole hog in building a HTPC, then this is the device for you.  Therefore, I recommend OnAir’s USB HDTV-GT get a recommended hardware award.  It’s a monster.

Current price: Price: $156.59   

Highly Recommended

Stuff that is always at the end

Special thanks to Autumnwave, OnAir Solution, Ryan Petrusio, and Hilbert Hagedoorn, for making this review possible.  As always, special thanks to the Godfather for letting me do this one. I am truly grateful.

• http://www.autumnwave.com/Consumers/OnAir-GT.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television
• http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
• http://www.dtvtransition.org/
• http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
• http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/hdtv-antenna-reviews.php
• http://www.hackaday.com/2007/02/01/diy-hd-antenna/
• http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html
• http://www.winegarddirect.com/ss-3000/winegard-ss-3000-antenna.asp
• http://w2.eff.org/IP/broadcastflag/eyetv500.php
• http://library.creativecow.net/articles/wilson_tim/blu-ray.php

 This review brought to you by the letter j.

Our moment of Zen:

+++BAM