Word: tuners
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
TUNED IN If listening to MP3 music or Internet radio on your computer leaves you cold, SonicBox's imBand Remote Tuner, due out early next year for $50, may be the answer. A small transmitter hooks to your computer's USB port and wirelessly transmits a signal from your PC to any FM tuner in your house. You select which station you want to listen to with a remote control, shown below, that you can set by your side, whether you're lounging on the couch or soaking...
...using to "test" the latest DVD-movie releases. I reasoned I could get another set of "multimedia speakers"--with built-in amplifiers, these are made just for a computer--or I could go wild and try Yamaha's new "personal receiver" (RP-U100), a $499 high-end amplifier and tuner that plugs into your PC. The beauty of being me is that I got to go wild...
...designed for gamers, making explosions boomier and ray guns zappier. Technophiles will also like the dynamic-range adjustment, which makes loud sounds softer and soft sounds louder--a handy feature if you want to watch a movie without annoying your neighbors. Finally, the unit has an AM-FM tuner...
...audiophiles. The fact is, you could hook almost any stereo receiver into your PC; the PC Home Theater is just supposed to simplify the process through its onscreen "remote control" and by using that handy USB port. Yet I found the system klugey. For instance, I have a TV tuner in my PC, but since the Yamaha device bypasses the sound card the tuner resides on, the TV system doesn't work. A spokesman said I could fix the problem with the right adapters--but I had to buy them separately. Finally, the device supports only one set of speakers...
Something else that's easy on the eyes is the Matrox Marvel G200 ($299), which I reviewed earlier this year. A Swiss army knife of a PC-plug-in device, the Marvel allows me to edit home videos easily on my computer. It's a TV tuner, so I can watch television on my computer monitor. And it's a graphics accelerator that makes computer games come alive...