News
Would You Watch HDTV On a PC?
Companies hope to reach a mainstream consumer audience with new tuners.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 29, 2006) -- Many Americans are excited about watching their favorite shows and sporting events on big-screen High-Definition TVs.

However, a handful of companies are launching new portable HDTV tuners that allow you to watch high-def on your PC or laptop.

That's according to an article at Forbes.com

The business site says sales of the devices have been slow due to limited distribution and marketing efforts. But AutumnWave, a New Bloomfield, PA company,hopes to change that with the OnAir GT, a high-def tuner manufactured by South Korea's OnAir Solution.

Forbes.com says the company has distribution deals with electronics wholesalers and the product is already being sold at Wal-Mart stores.

Patrick Castellani, the company's president, tells Forbes that he expects the device to be in Target, BestBuy and Circuit City before the 2006 holiday season.

The OnAir GT is connected to your PC via a USB 2.0 port and can only display high-def signals from local channels and unencrypted cable.

The device can record programming on the PC's hard drive.

Forbes says AutumnWave is targeting business travelers and college students, who are more likely to watch video on non-TV devices.

"We're creating a new space for mobile HDTV,'' Castellani told Forbes.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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