No matter what country one finds themselves in, a PC equipped with a TV tuner powered by one of ATI's new Theater HD 750 chips should be able to tune into any over the air TV broadcasts available. These give a step up over the hardware in the company's old TV Wonder 650 line by adding PAL, SECAM and DVB-T support to NTSC, ATSC and ClearQAM access. Of course Media Center PC owners can set up all manner of DVR features, and for that all-ATI feel combines with ATI Stream software and videocards to transcode video into a variety of formats. Expect the new tuners to come out in PCI Express, USB stick and other flavors later this year, if you can't wait, try a glimpse of the preview trailer embedded after the break.

How close is Sony's PlayTV DVR to working with New Zealand broadcasts? Very, or so it would seem, one reader wrote in to let us know the UK PlayTV unit he brought down to NZ in '08 has, since the 2.10 firmware update, put its DVB-T compatibility to work and started picking up some broadcasts. So far he's able to catch TV3 in 1080i and AC3 surround and even pause and buffer video, but no program scheduling support. On the other 7 Freeview channels? Video, but no audio so far. Sony hasn't documented any New Zealand compatibility in its upgrades, but at least judging by one users experience everything is being "worked in" in good time.

[Thanks, Jim]

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.

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.

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.

Microsoft invited us, with a few others, to tour the eHome team office and lab's and of all the great things we saw -- pictured in the gallery -- the one that got us the most excited was to see the rumored DirecTV HDPC-20 USB tuner in action. Our dreams were a little dashed though, as we were reminded on numerous occasions that although Microsoft tests lots of hardware, not everything makes it to market. So in other words, the presence of any hardware in the lab is no way an announcement of future products. But this here tuner wasn't the only thing we saw, as there were even a few indications that DISH Network was being tested as well, and while we did see DISH multi-switches and a DISH TV screen up on a Media Center PC, we didn't see any specific DISH equipment connected to Media Center. This could mean the tuners are internal or maybe the tuners were just cleared out before we came through. More pictures of the HDPC-20 in action after the jump.

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.

Back in May, we passed along a look at one of Panasonic's earliest FreeSat-enabled VIERAs. Fast forward a few months, and here we are staring down the barrel of a full-fledged review. Pocket-lint recently got ahold of Panny's 46-inch TH-46PZ81B, a 1080p plasma with a built-in FreeSat tuner. Obviously, the bulk of the review focused on how well that latter inclusion performed, and we're happy to share that it did well. Images from FreeSat HD sources were dubbed "sharp with superb detail," and Blu-ray flicks were also a treat to watch. The biggest downer in the whole writeup wasn't about the set at all -- the reviewer bemoaned the fact that so little HD content was available through FreeSat, and given just how excellent it looked, he was left yearning for more. Couldn't agree with you more, brother.

Mac users, PC users -- come one and all, as Pinnacle Systems is introducing not one, but two new USB HDTV tuners today to suit both of those crowds. The PCTV HD mini Stick (for PC) and TV for Mac HD mini Stick both get all the juice they need from a spare USB port and provide OTA HDTV reception, bundled software (Pinnacle TVCenter Pro 5) for recording, pausing and watching television, and support for ATSC / ClearQAM signals. Both options should be available before September ends for $119.99 and $129.99 (in order of mention).

[Via Macworld]

Er, you know that September 10th, €99 (about £78) PlayTV launch announced by David Reeves? Well, turns out that the Sony Europe president jumped the gun or the product's been dragged through a trough of delay. Whatever the case, Sony Europe told Eurogamer that the PS3 TV tuner / DVR add-on will launch on the 19th of September now and cost a bit less at just 70 Quid. It's also said to be HD ready should local DVB-T broadcasters decide to throw that switch.

[Via PS3 Fanboy, thanks Jimb]

First off, Pinnacle's latest PCTV HD Pro Stick came out months ago, and as a matter of fact, the original actually surfaced years ago. However, it's latest ploy for press does make a valid point: USB TV tuners and / or HD DVRs are a must-have item for surviving the Olympics. Oh sure, you can do what most Americans will do and simply tune into the highlights, but this is your one shot in four years to catch planet Earth's greatest summer athletes doing their respective thangs in high-definition! Still, you've only got two eyes and one pair of ears, so now would be a very opportune time to pick up some form of recording device to make sure you don't miss a, er, too many moments.

There are HD junkies, and then there are HD junkies. You know, those folks who can't leave on a business trip without packing in a USB HD tuner to catch some OTA goodness once they arrive. Here's to you, latter guy / gal:

"I travel quite frequently on business, and while some hotels I end up in have HD programming, many still do not. I'm considering picking up an OTA TV tuner that I can just plug into my laptop's USB port, but there are just so many options. Any help out there on which performs the best and which comes with the nicest PVR software?"

We're going to assume this fellow is in search of a TV tuner that works here in the US (ATSC), but feel free to chime in with DVB-T, etc. options as well. Oh, and be sure to signify whether your recommendation only works on Mac or PC if that is indeed the case.

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