can anybody recommend what is the best thing to plug into the usb for TV on a laptop. Had a look on search the last thing was about 2 years ago…
I saw a thing in John Lewis on saturday that you just plug in and away you go with freeview tv it was about £50…All it was was a usb stick…
Cheers guys
Bought one last Saturday from Aldi for £20. Came with all the software, the dongle, and a couple of aerials, tried it at home, nothing took it with me last week never picked anything up all week and I was all over the country, took it back for a refund yesterday. So IMO they arent much good however if anyone finds a good un let us know.
I use one of these
hauppauge.co.uk/pages/produc … stick.html
but you need a good aerial and be in a good reception area , its always a bit hit and miss tbh
Have a look at MAPLIN.
I have a V-Gear one and if you can park up with a reasonable clear area around you, then its pretty good.
Dont park near trees and if you can, park where the aerial is reasonable clear of the other trucks in the parking area.
as we used to say in the good ol days
its the twig that makes the rig
so get a decent ariel
for digi 30-100 quid
i bought the novastick from pc world cost £27.00 i use it with a powered ariel booster i dont use the viewing package it came with, but run it through the window media player doesnt seen to freeze as much if you have weak signal, also you can change channels quicker ok you dont get all the channel info all the time, but you can pause the program like sky plus and come back to it. also recording is easy
its a lot easier than having to get seperate tv out, bought a fm mini transmitter which i plug into the headphone socket so i can listen through the radio in the truck nearly as goood as surround sound great for dvd’s as well.
peteandbrenda:
i bought a fm mini transmitter which i plug into the headphone socket so i can listen through the radio in the truck nearly as goood as surround sound great for dvd’s as well.
Now thats probably the most usefull thing i’ve read today im now going off on a Google mission
Reef:
peteandbrenda:
i bought a fm mini transmitter which i plug into the headphone socket so i can listen through the radio in the truck nearly as goood as surround sound great for dvd’s as well.Now thats probably the most usefull thing i’ve read today im now going off on a Google mission
Been doing that for some time with my kids DVD player that they watch in the back of the car on long journeys. The new car (S-MAX) has a 3.5mm input socket so we won’t need the FM transmitter.
Do you know how many films I’ve heard but not seen■■? 
BTW, try and get one of the FM transmitters that runs off batteries, not a cable from the cig-lighter; keeps the cig-lighter socket free for the DVD player, satnav, phone charger, etc etc 
Reef:
peteandbrenda:
i bought a fm mini transmitter which i plug into the headphone socket so i can listen through the radio in the truck nearly as goood as surround sound great for dvd’s as well.Now thats probably the most usefull thing i’ve read today im now going off on a Google mission
The Linex ones off Ebay are good.they look rubbish and only have about 6 different frequencies they work on but they are by far the best for sound quality and battery life
Ive had about 5 fm transmitters over the last 5 years and these are by far the best…DO NOT buy one of the Belkin ones or alike from currys etc as they are absolute ■■■■■ and are pretty much double the price of the Linex
cgi.ebay.co.uk/LINEX-WIRELESS-FM … dZViewItem
marcustandy:
BTW, try and get one of the FM transmitters that runs off batteries, not a cable from the cig-lighter; keeps the cig-lighter socket free for the DVD player, satnav, phone charger, etc etc
If you get a transmitter that runs on 5 volts, snip the ciggy plug off and solder it to an old USB lead. You can use the laptop power through USB - thus saving dosh on batts.
Yes I am a skinflint
EDIT:
USB power is:
RED = 5v
Black = GND
Ignore the White and Green - they are data.
Darby Flyer:
marcustandy:
BTW, try and get one of the FM transmitters that runs off batteries, not a cable from the cig-lighter; keeps the cig-lighter socket free for the DVD player, satnav, phone charger, etc etcIf you get a transmitter that runs on 5 volts, snip the ciggy plug off and solder it to an old USB lead. You can use the laptop power through USB - thus saving dosh on batts.
Yes I am a skinflint
EDIT:
USB power is:
RED = 5v
Black = GNDIgnore the White and Green - they are data.
Good idea if it’s only for the laptop; my girls are usually watching a film on the portable DVD player so the battery transmitter works best for us.
marcustandy:
BTW, try and get one of the FM transmitters that runs off batteries, not a cable from the cig-lighter; keeps the cig-lighter socket free for the DVD player, satnav, phone charger, etc etc
I second that because when I use mine off the 12v socket I get a lot of hum. Two AAA batteries last about 15 hours, and I use rechargables. The great thing is that you can play MP3 player, laptop or any other audio output through it.
i have one of these hauppauge.co.uk/pages/produc … stick.html
but use small digi arial i got with my 12v digi tv before blew up 
currently sitting in layby watching tv and every freeview channel tuned in and no distortion 