About Portable Usb HDTV Tuners

A laptop usb HDTV tuner is relatively small device that takes the functionality of tuners designed to provide high definition television signal decoding functions to a PC using USB technology. This gadgets are built with the traveling student or business man in mind making then perfect to carry in a Laptop bag. The main idea behind the concept of the usb tuner is to help people on the go receive On Air broadcasts transmitted in HD with the convenience of not having to deal with a big add on device. Instead these tuners are light weight and small, looking somehow similar to a pen drive.


What are the downsides of portable Usb tuners?

While the concept looks great at first there are somethings to consider. Reviews vary greatly between each usb tuner model. Some users experience exceptional quality sound and picture with some while other models have a tendency to de-synchronize audio from video. This creates a lag where video appears to be moving before sound or vice versa ruining the experience, this complaint has been apparent with older models and usb tuners that are often made by unrecognized brands. Usually the gain of an Esb tuner is lower than that of set top boxes and PCI tuners due to the fact that space limitations restrict the use of external antennas. This makes these tuners rely on internal antennas that resembling more like antenna-less cell phones. This fact is important to be aware off since overall performance will be greatly affected if signals received are not strong enough for the HDTV tuner.