It's not that ASUS hasn't dipped its toes in HDTV waters before (by the way, whatever happened to that altogether enticing Eee TV?), but we dare say that the TV Monitor T1 is a fresh, if not unsurprising new direction for the company. Arriving in 22- (22T1E), 24- (24T1E) and 27-inch (27T1E) sizes, this trio of sets features a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) panel, a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, 300 nits of brightness, five millisecond response time, built-in TV tuners (for the UK market) and a pair of seven-watt speakers. As for sockets, you'll find VGA, HDMI (x2), component, composite, S-Video and even a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. Per usual, ASUS is refusing to dole out pricing and release date information, but hopefully it won't be long before Britons can indulge (and North Americans are notified of an NTSC-capable version).

Remember that brilliant Turbo.264 video conversion dongle that shipped like, two whole years ago? Yeah, it's successor has just hit the streets, and it's as ready as ever for 1080p content. The predictably titled Elgato Turbo.264 HD plugs directly into one's Mac and converts files up to 1080p (from camcorders, digital cameras, etc.) into files that are perfectly formatted for iPods, PSPs or other media players. The bundled software also lets users preview and trim video clips before converting, and it saves folks the time and hassle of importing into iMovie, learning commands, rendering and exporting. Reportedly, a video that would take an hour to convert to an iPod-friendly file takes just 15 minutes with this here dongle, and if that's worth $149.95 to you, you're one click away from brightening your own day.

[Via Electricpig]

AVerMedia's USB-enabled AVerTVHD Volar MAX, which was introduced just about two months ago to the day, has just started shipping out to retail locations and mailboxes everywhere. The tuner can easily pick up OTA HD channels as well as ClearQAM signals, and it even plays nice with both Mac and PC platforms. Furthermore, it makes compressing recordings for playback on an iPod or other PMP remarkably simple, but you'll have to shell out $69.99 in order to bring it all home.

AVerMedia's starting off the year on a good foot, and it's introducing a number of new TV tuners for a variety of applications. Kicking things off is the AVerTV Hybrid PocketExpress ($89.99), which brings ATSC / NTSC / Clear QAM / FM Radio tuning to one's 34mm or 54mm ExpressCard slot. Next up is the AVerTV Bravo ($49.99), which slides into your PCI Express x1 slot in order to handle digital TV tuning and all the PVR functions (record, pause, rewind, etc.) you'd expect. The AVerTVHD Volar Max ($69.99) holds it down on the USB 2.0 front, while the AVerTVHD Duet can tune two digital signals at once for $79.99. Have a look at the read link for all the intimate details on each.

Unless you're picking up a Mini 10 with an integrated TV tuner, you'll need one of these (or something similar) in order to pull down OTA signals on your Inspiron Mini. Dell has just announced a thumb-sized USB digital TV tuner (complete with a built-in telescoping and articulating antenna that retracts) catering to the Inspiron family which will start at just $50. Also of note, the company is intending to offer "regional-specific versions of the Digital TV Tuner, designed to receive local broadcast standards, including mobile digital television standards like ATSC in the US, DVB-T in Western Europe, ISDB-T 1-seg (a.k.a. One Seg) in Japan, and the emerging CMMB standard in China." It'll play nice with the Dell-customized version of Ubuntu Linux (8.04), Windows XP and Windows Vista Basic, and it's expected to ship later this quarter in Europe, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific / China soon after.

It's been almost a year since Elgato refreshed its EyeTV Hybrid tuner, and while the addition of better reception and a FM radio tuner aren't earth-shattering, it's awfully hard to complain about how much the company has crammed into the Cear-QAM 1080i-tuning USB stick aimed at Mac users. The $150 dongle includes a year-long subscription to TV Guide for your scheduling convenience, but you'll have to fork over $20 per year for the service after that. There will be a new 3.1 version of EyeTV available later this month, but you can pick up the fresh hardware right now.

Just because America is ditching analog in favor of digital this February doesn't mean that it's the only nation on the planet with transition on the brain. In July 2011, the same type of cutover will go down in Japan, leaving an estimated 35 million televisions unable to view digital broadcasts. NEC Electronics is already on the ball, cranking out a system-on-chip that puts everything necessary to convert digital signals for use on old school analog sets into a nice, compact chip. The result? In theory, we should see some pretty diminutive DTV converters, but we all know how these set-top-box makers love to pack loads of hot air within unnecessarily large enclosures.

Tired of those vanilla USB tuners, are you? Not really getting the performance you deserve when tuning into your HD locals? Then have a glance at K-world's USB Lamborghini UB385-T -- but look quick, else you might miss it. Terrible jokes aside, this wicked quick DVB-T tuner is unnecessarily flashy, but early reports suggest that it works remarkably well. Setup was lightning fast, reception was world-class and the design was really something special. And heck, with a price tag like this (S$140; around 93 greenbacks), you won't even have to pony up too much for the branding.

Forget those OTA tuners that only pick up what's widely distributed for free; the CANAL+ KEY can handle that and more. Developed in conjunction with DiBom, the device -- hailed as the planet's first USB key-sized DTT HD decoder -- enables the reception of French pay-TV programs (SD and HD), 18 free DTT channels and even the premium channel CANAL+ HD. The key is equipped with two small antennas and can provide viewing enjoyment to any USB-equipped PC. Regrettably, there's no price / availability date mentioned, but yet again, we're amazed at how quickly France is becoming Europe's beacon of HD light.

[Via TechDigest]

File this one in the category of "Oh, no they didn't!" Sadly, it seems they really have. DirecTV has sent out an email stating the following: "DirecTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20 tuner project that was designed to integrate DirecTV service into Windows Media Center after assessing the impact of missing the August 2008 release of Windows Media Center update and considering timing of the next release." The note goes on to say that both the satcaster and Microsoft understand that folks are clamoring for an easy way to get DirecTV content on the PC, and that both companies are "continuing to explore ways to integrate DirecTV service with Windows-based PCs in the future." And to think, that hands-on we got late last month just might be the last you ever see of this promising little box. Why... just, why?

[Via Gearlog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Say you're James Bond (or similar), and for once, you're actually not the one behind the wheel. While you're being chauffeured around the elegant Italian countryside at breakneck speeds, you'll probably want a little live TV entertainment from the back seat. Enter Microtune's MicroTuner, a "first-of-its-kind tuner chip for high-speed in-car TV." Put simply, the MT2067 is built to provide "superior, stable TV reception for passengers in vehicles traveling at top speeds along the autobahn or highway," and supposedly, it can retain a clear signal whilst motoring at 125 miles-per-hour. Better still, it's supports worldwide analog / digital terrestrial standards including NTSC, PAL, SECAM, DVB-T, DVB-H, ISDB-T, DTMB, ATSC and ATSC-M/H. $20 says this comes integrated into next year's TV-infused line of Bentley motorcars.

For those that have been paying any level of attention to the TV revolution in China, this here partnership won't come as a shock at all. As the nation continues to push for widespread adoption of TV viewing (it's for the kids, folks), China Digital TV has teamed with none other than Microsoft in order to bring to market a Vista-compatible PC-TV tuner. According to the release, the solution will "allow computer users throughout China to watch and record scrambled digital cable television programming on their PCs." The device itself is based on a DVB-C digital IC, enabling it to receive digital cable television programming and "decode the encrypted television signals through the conditional access module." Sadly, there's no mention of a price (nor an image), but we are told that it's being deployed by cable companies as well as PC / STB manufacturers right now.

Announced today, the Pinnacle PCTV line will soon be property of Hauppauge Digital, not Avid Technology. After laying off 410 employees and divesting its Softimage 3-D game animation software business last Friday, the company has announced yet another major move in its restructuring efforts. According to Avid CEO Gary Greenfield, he's hoping to transform Avid's business into one that "focuses on software applications that not only meet consumer demand, but also complement our broader portfolio of video and audio solutions." Even he confessed that "PCTV [was] a compelling standalone hardware product and a better fit for Hauppauge, a recognized leader in the TV-viewing hardware market." While financial terms weren't disclosed, the deal is slated to close before the end of 2008, and the happy new owner has already announced its intentions to continue supporting and developing both the hardware and software components of the PCTV line.

If you've been looking for a convenient way to turn your spare monitor into a guest room TV (or you've just been searching for a standalone OTA HDTV tuner), AVerMedia has you covered. The AVerTV Hybrid TVBox 11 not only includes an analog / ATSC / Clear QAM TV tuner, but it also boasts a DVI output, component input / output, transparent PIP support and a bundled remote. Not too much to offer beyond that, but apparently AVerMedia feels it's worth $199.99.