4. CPU Usage And Heat

The player doesn't seem to use much CPU power. I ran the player with several windows open, including FireFox, Microsoft Outlook and AOL Instant Messenger. Most of the time, CPU usage hovered around 30%.

The OnAir HDTV unit itself doesn't get hot at all. There are dozens of vent holes on both sides of the unit. In addition, a fan and blowhole dissipate heat even further.

Stills And Video Recording

Like other players, you can also take still pictures and record video using the OnAir. Video is recorded in a proprietary format with a .tp2 extension. A sample 13 second clip was 31 MB in size. The clips will only play back inside the OnAir player, and there doesn't seem to be a way to export it into MPEG2 or another common format. This should be considered if you intend to transport clips to friends or other computers.

Conclusion

The Sasem OnAir HDTV worked well on my laptop. The setup was easy and the interface was clean.

Is it practical for laptop users? Only you can answer that. For some people, it is too cumbersome to carry around an antenna, antenna cable, antenna stand, OnAir HDTV unit, power supply and USB cable. For others, it's not so bad, because it all fits inside a backpack.

The only real downside here seems to be the proprietary format used for video recordings. Other than that small problem, if you want HDTV without worrying about opening up your PC, the OnAir HDTV is a good choice.