We've seen our share of USB TV tuners, in fact a number are in the HEXUS.labs now being reviewed. The trouble with them, however, is their need for an aerael. ASUS is tackling that problem (we hope) with its latest creation.
The My Cinema U3000 features a built-in, retractable antenna, rather than the extra antenna on a wire that we're used to. The digital terrestrial device is, like other USB tuners, bus-powered, meaning that in theory at least, you can slap it on your laptop and view television without being tied down by anything else. A remote is provided for use when a little more reclined, however.
We've never had any luck with the puny antennas shipped with TV tuners, so we remain sceptical that the My Cinema U3000's solution will be able to provide decent reception. However, we hope that it will at least function in areas where signal strength is strong. There is an LED on the device to indicate signal strength, which should be handy. Of course, the U3000's software supports the usual features, such as time shifting. It also offers media-center-like features, such as movie and music playback, along with DVD burning.
It looks like ASUS is putting a different spin on USB TV tuners, and might have a winner here. We'll wait and see.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.pr :: ASUS's press release.