MDTV Review

Product Summary

Positive: Input for Audio and Video, great pricing at less than $80, includes AC adapter and car adapter, built-in rechargeable battery.

Negative: Cannot receive signals while in a car (or in motion: more info), no removable battery makes the Axion AXN-8701 a tough choice for extreme weather or emergency use conditions.

Overall:  Great value and sure to satisfy needs for a small portable television.

Price: $79.99 @ Amazon

Reviewed On: 2/15/10
Last Updated: 2/15/10

MDTV Review

The Axion AXN-8701 is one of many new handheld televisions currently available to consumers looking for a small portable television with a built-in digital tuner.  It’s (W x D x H):  7.3 inches x 5.8 inches x 1.3 inches chassis is wrapped in black plastic with small grey plastic buttons for power, volume, channel, settings, and input selection.
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What’s new in the world of Mobile DTV? Lots. For starers, FLO TV (mobile TV pay service), scored mega buzz with their Super Bowl commercials last Sunday. One starring CBS sportscaster Jim Nants who gives an injury report on a man shopping with his wife,

and the other featuring historical events caught on live TV with a small cameo from Will.I.Am,

Both commercials were hot topics on for days on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and the blogoshpere.

FCC to pay broadcasters for networks?

Newsweek mentioned yesterday that the FCC is considering paying broadcasters to take some of the valuable TV broadcast spectrum to satisfy the growing needs of cell phone providers.  continue reading…

After the digital transition occured in Feb. 2009, almost all analog mobile TV sets became little more than electronic paper weights. How many? An approximate 8 million according to Consumer Electronics Association (2006 estimate), and not one converter box manufacture has produced a workable solution. One digital-to-anlog converter box maker, Winegard, has produced a dtv box which can be optionally powered by 6 D batteries, and run for an estimated 18 hours…but how do you connect it to a mobile TV with no inputs?

Our review focuses on the 4 most popular (for 2010) handheld TV sets w/ built-in digital tuners on the market.

Reminder: The handhelds featured in this review are built with an ATSC tuner, not capable of receiving broadcast signals while in motion. (More info)

Price: $79.54 @ Amazon

Positive:
7-inch portable LCD TV with ATSC/NTSC tuner, that WILL work after the 6/12/2009 Digital Transition
Selectable screen aspect ratio of 16:9 or 4:3
Audio/video jack and coaxial output; detachable antenna
rechargeable Li-polymer battery

Negative:
Some reviews have reported a battery life of approximtely 2 to 2 1/2 hours

The bottom line:
The HLT71 includes an AC power adapter, a car adapter, and the digital tuner seems to rate well with reception of DTV signals. At the current price point, the Haier HLT71 has been the current top seller at Amazon for mobile DTVs.

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Summary

There is a distinct difference between the two types of tuners that handheld and mobile television sets are built with. This is in reference to mobile devices that receive free, over-the-air television signals.

MDTV

Mobile or handheld television sets labled with an “MDTV” logo (as pictured to the right) are capable of receiving digital broadcast signals while travelling at speeds of 100+ Miles Per Hour. (See: What is MDTV for more info)

Handheld TVs w/ an ATSC Tuner

Handheld TV sets with a built-in (digital) ATSC tuner are capable of receiving digital television signals, but are unable to receive digital signals while travelling at a speed greater than 5 Miles Per Hour.

LG’s DP570MH mobile digital television set combines a mobile DTV tuner and a DVD player. This unit features a 7-inch tiltable, foldable, wide-screen display (480×234-pixel resolution) and two stereo speakers. Manufacture LG boasts a 2.5 hour battery life while watching TV or up to 4.5 hours during DVD playback. The DP570MH also features USB 2.0 connection for JPEG viewing or WMA music format playback.   When folded closed, the DP570MH measures 9.5 x 6.5 inches.

One of our earlier posts show’s LG demonstrating the DP570MH at CES 2010.  (See the third video)

Here are some YouTube videos of “MDTV” being demonstrated at the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show.

Up first is NetworkWorld.TV’s Mobile DTV preview at CES.

Description:  NetworkWorld does a fantastic job showing various MDTV products from vendors including LG and Samsung.  Alo includes interviews with David Arland w/ Open Mobile Video Coalition, and John Godfrey w/ Samsung Electronics America.

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Mobile Digital Television (MDTV),  is the new for 2010 broadcast standard for delivering mobile digital television signals to consumers in the US.  “MDTV” may also be referenced as, A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard, ATSC-M/H, and Mobile DTV.

Products labled with the “MDTV” stamp (as seen to the left) are able to receive free local digital broadcasts in markets where the signal is broadcasted.

Click on the map below to view the Open Mobile Video Coalition’s forecasted cities for “MDTV” availability,

Products with MDTV tuners are predicted to range from mobile phones to portable media players, laptop computers, and select navigation devices.
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