OCC has published a new review on the Asus My Cinema-U3100Mini TV Tuner.  This petite USB device allows computers to view ATSC/QAM digital television - which is replacing the current analog setup in the United States of America fully by February 17th, 2009. The included software is simple to use for watching television, recording television shows, capturing and browsing frames taken from shows, pausing shows with a time delay (so you don't miss anything), watching DVDs, listening to music libraries, and even managing radio broadcasts (this tuner does not have radio capabilities). The software also allows any broadcasts to be played in the Windows Sidebar. Also, this device is Asus EEE laptop friendly with special drivers included on the installation discs, and the packaging claims it to be a power saving device - good for notebooks where battery life is key.

The Asus My Cinema-U3100 has only delighted me. It does what it is designed to do perfectly, unobstructed with any errors during operation. The fact that it uses USB is extremely handy since it can be used in virtually any computer, and is also portable. It also means that no tools are required to use this device. Since the coaxial adapter is flexible, it helps to relieve tension from thick coaxial cables - which helps keep the tuner from being knocked out from the USB port. The TotalMedia software works great, and is very simple and easy to follow - it is very intuitive. The only downfall of this tuner is that it is limited in use until ATSC is enforced in 2009 (2011 for Canada). But when that time comes, this gem will shine even more!