[opendtv] Not quite yet but getting closer

More FUD for the mix.  Via Don Lung's RF Report.

John

<http://www.tvtechnology.com/dlrf/one.php?id=1082>

New ATSC USB Tuner Includes LG 5G Chip

In response to my article last week on the "sexy" Mobix USB 2.0 tuner for 
DVB-T terrestrial DTV reception on notebook computers, Sean Wallace sent me 
information and some circuit board photos of the new FusionHDTV5 USB Gold 
portable ATSC receiver by Dvico. It looks as if the VBox A-3560 USB 2.0 
receiver that I've been hauling around the country is now outdated!

This is the third ATSC USB receiver I've seen. The first was the SASEM, 
which is now difficult to obtain. The second was the VBox, which was on 
display at NAB2005 and is readily available from on-line retailers such as 
Copperbox.com and VisibleLight.com. The new FusionHDTV5 USB Gold receiver is 
also available at Copperbox.com.

The FusionHDTV5 USB is not as small and attractive as the Mobix receiver, 
but what's inside makes it interesting. The tuner includes the new LG/Zenith 
5th generation VSB decoder chip. This is the one that convinced VSB skeptics 
that 8-VSB might work after all. Like the VBox, the receiver is powered from 
the USB bus, but unlike the Vbox, it can also receive and record standard 
NTSC analog TV. A remote control is also available. Advanced recording 
features include HD to DVD, HD to DViX and direct MPEG2 recording of the 
ATSC stream. Not clear is whether these format conversions are supported in 
hardware or if they are software based.

Copperbox.com has more detailed specifications than the FusionHDTV USB Gold 
<http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/HDTV5usb.aspx> product page. 
Copperbox lists the tuner as the LG H062F, the demodulator as the LG DT3303, 
the MPEG decoder as the Conexant CX25843 and the main chipset as a CY68013A.

Wallace reported the box is great at pulling in signals. From his location 
south of Washington D.C., he was able to pull in Baltimore DTV stations 
using a Silver Sensor antenna indoors. Unfortunately, he experienced 
problems with the receiver and its software crashing his computer on certain 
channels. I've experienced this too with the VBox receiver, but it appears 
to be a software problem, as newer versions of TSReader and the AtmosWeb 
software seem to handle the streams better. Wallace wondered how stations 
would respond to these problems. "Can you just imagine the angry people 
calling in to the station and sputtering about how 'your TV channel crashes 
my computer!!'"

In addition to the report from Wallace, Bob Behar reported that he was able 
to receive most of the local Miami DTV stations in his office using the 
FusionHDTV5 USB tuner and the small telescoping whip antenna that comes with 
it. Miami has a mixture of UHF and high-VHF DTV channels.


 
 
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