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Posted by Cool_X on January 2, 2006, 9:08 am
Please log in for more thread options Barry,
Well, it certainly surprises me that Micro$oft wouldn't lock the OEMs like they
usually do into
having a TV tuner standard for every machine running MCE, because from what I've
seen, the "TV
mode" is one of the few "features" that make this version any different from
standard XP
versions. How could M$ ever allow a portion of their OS to be disabled? Sounds
uncharacteristic of them to me.
In any case, every desktop I've seen in stores was actually in TV mode as a demo
feature, so
given the price of TV tuner cards, I thought it was as standard as the remote
(though I can see
Dell being the exception with customization). And not only did I see a Toshiba
Qosmio with a
coaxial port right on the back of the machine, but the December 2004 issue of
Laptop magazine
features the Qosmio G15-AV501 as a "Best Buy", with nothing less than an
instant-on integrated
TV tuner! And the HP Pavilion ZD8000 has a DUAL TV tuner, allowing you to watch
and record
different programs at the same time, albeit USB 2.0. This was over a year ago!
I admit I've
never seen MCE machines as anything more than a novelty, if I was truly
interested in
integrating multimedia with computing, I'd go for Mac OSX. But even as I know
things can be
better with a separate home theatre system, I'm still VERY unhappy that HDCP
prevents me from
using a nice PC display like the Dell 2405FPW from displaying DVI signals, even
though I have
no intention of copying anything (a separate discussion, but a major sore spot
caused by PCs
being too integrated with multimedia and it being too easy to pirate so many
things).
It's still surprising that you hadn't heard of the Qosmios featuring integrated
TV tuners over
a year ago, they were quite big (and needing 2 hands to lift) back then.
Cool_X
Barry Watzman wrote:
> Re: "AFAIK, ALL desktops and laptops running Windows XP Media Centre
> Edition have built-in TV tuners"
>
> No, they don't.
>
> While you might think that they do (and I won't argue that logically
> they should, at least desktops), the vendors sell a few desktops with
> MCE as the OS and no tuner, and almost none of the laptops sold with MCE
> have INTERNAL tuners, rather the laptop makers offer USB or Cardbus
> external tuners, and in many cases it's an extra cost option and doesn't
> come with the laptop. Dell is very close to offering MCE as their
> "standard" OS on many laptop models, but in almost all of those cases,
> the tuner and remote control are optional extras, not automatically
> included with the laptop, and not internal (unless you consider a PC
> Card to be "internal").
>
>
> Cool_X wrote:
>
>> Barry, given how much you know, I can't believe you posted something
>> like that...
>>
>> AFAIK, ALL desktops and laptops running Windows XP Media Centre
>> Edition have built-in TV tuners, and some of them come with an
>> external AV input box via a dongle.
>>
>> I know for a fact that ALL Toshiba Qosmio laptops (and some huge 11-lb
>> HP machines) have a built-in tuner, and they have coaxial, composite
>> video, S-Video and RCA analog audio inputs, as well as analog
>> component video out, without even needing an external box (albeit
>> proprietary dongles). Barry, I can't believe you don't know about
>> them or more about XP Media Centre, because I think integrated TV
>> tuners are one of the key features that Micro$oft built this new
>> version around.
>>
>> For further info, I believe that most TV tuner chips are made with an
>> ATI (Canadian, BTW) IGP chipset on the motherboard, and that the tuner
>> itself is usually made by Phillips, with most North American TVs
>> (won't assume to speak for worldwide TVs).
>>
>> Back to johnnyr's question, he should contact the manufacturer
>> (Toshiba here, is it a Qosmio, johnnyr?) for support, because it
>> sounds like an obvious hardware defect to me, and if the machine's
>> under warranty, then it may be covered up to the machine being
>> replaced (any failure on the motherboard usually can't be fixed
>> manually due to soldering and proprietary parts).
>>
>> The key when buying from eBay is when buying new or refurbished, to
>> get the warranty transferred over to you (some sellers will offer Mack
>> worldwide extended warranties, and I think it's also available on
>> PayPal Buyer Credit (a US-only service)), and if buying used, you have
>> to know that you will have to pay for any out-of-warranty work, as
>> well as knowing that some things like motherboard (any integrated
>> component really) failures can't be fixed manually.
>>
>> Hope I've helped, as I never expected to know something that Barry
>> didn't...what a surprise LOL!
>>
>> Cool_X
>>
>>
>> Barry Watzman wrote:
>>
>>> What tuner is it? I'm not aware of any laptops that have built-in
>>> tuners.
>>>
>>>
>>> johnnyr wrote:
>>>
>>>> I bought my laptop used awhile back.It was floor model for some store.I
>>>> got it on Ebay.
>>>> But the tuner has never worked. It is not recognized by the device
>>>> hardware .I have reinstalled os,updated software and Bios and still
>>>> does not work.
>>>>
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