TV Tuner on G50VT

Allright, so this is annoying the hell out of me. I see the TV Tuner antenna port on the side of my laptop (G50VT-X2). Is there any way to use it as is, or atleast add a tv tuner card internally? I know this has been asked a couple of times in other threads, but it wasn't the main question and was just overlooked and never answered AFAIK. Thanks alot!

 

Hey, I had the same question and I own a G50VT-X2. Taking out the main lid on the bottom of the laptop today, I saw that on the one corner (the one where the wireless switch is located) if you look closely through the vent with a flashlight or through the inside the wire was routed for the antenna and there is what looks to be a mini-pcie slot. So I'm guessing you could by a mini-pcie tv tuner (I saw an avermedia one on ebay $50) and see what happens?

It would definitely require taking most of the laptop apart, but I think its well worth it for an extra mini-pcie slot. I might do it myself but I'm in college and I'm in the middle of finals week, maybe next week though...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=283253

 

As you can see in RdWing's link, the three models of TV cards that ASUS has drivers for are the YUAN MC570, YUAN MC770, YUAN MC872-1D. I did a Google search and think I found the three cards on Yuan's website. I think the description of the three cards will clear up the reason why we do not have a TV Tuner.

The closest I found for the YUAN MC872-1D is a YUAN MPC872 which is a MiniPCI 3A Dual DVB-T TV tuner card.

The closest I found for the YUAN MC770 is a YUAN MC770A which is a Mini Card Hybrid DVB-T and Analog TV Tuner Card.

The closest I found for the YUAN MC570 is a YUAN MC570Q which doesn't have a description.

Two of the three cards are DVB-T cards which are not useful in the US. The third card is in the MiniCard ATSC Hybrid series although the lack of description makes me believe this card might have never been finalized. Either way it is clear that the cards are not in the laptops and there doesn't seem to be a source to purchase them.

 

All of which aren't meant for US ATSC standards. Remember the G50V is an international model and it was cheaper to keep the port then to have two different board assemblies.

 

The last card, the YUAN MC570, just might have been OK for the US standard since it seems it was a ATSC card. Or at least the YUAN MC570Q I found was in the MiniCard ATSC Hybrid series. Problem is that it's description isn't listed and you can't seem to get them so it's kind of pointless.

Although, it does make me wonder if the motherboard actually has another minicard slot but looking over the disassembly guide I don't see anything. Maybe the VT has something the V didn't have but I kind of doubt it. Oh well.

 

So after much adversity including asus themselves telling me there was no such mini pcie slot and 30 screws later, I found it! The mini pcie slot is right were I though it in between the video card and the sd card slot. I have included pictures below, so enjoy! Again this a G50VT-X2 model not sure which other models have this slot or if its even functional...

I posted the small pictures and theres links to the larger ones bellow them.



http://franciscoesqueda.com/images/G50VT_1.JPG
http://franciscoesqueda.com/images/G50VT_2.JPG
http://franciscoesqueda.com/images/G50VT_3.JPG


So the next step for me is I think I'm going to buy a YUAN MC585 or an Avermedia A312 or there is an AOpen kit online from AVADirect but its too expensive for me. I'm leaning toward getting the A312 and then just buying an MCX to Coaxial cable, hooking it up to my cable and seeing what happens. Assuming the slot works and the drivers claim to be Vista MCE compatible it should be simple, but I'll let you guys know. Also let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on tuners. I saw the ones you guys posted but I don't think any of them are meant to work in the US (Not ATSC/NTSC compatible). So we'll see and if this is a fully functionaly pci-e slot you can even put an ssd in there or something!

 

Great work! That really opens things up a bit for possibilities. I think the YUAN MC570Q card I posted above is an ATSC card. I know the YUAN MC585 is a ATSC card but still don't know where to get either of them.

Keep us posted!

 

OK, you got me very interested in the whole built-in TV tuner idea so I have been doing a lot of searches. I found this tuner which I *think* would work and isn't too expensive.

Then I was doing more searches and might have found the reason that we don't have built-in tuners. This post isn't exactly relevant but I am now a bit worried about how much heat a built-in card might add to the laptop. Maybe this is the reason none of the G50VT's have TV tuners.(?)

 

If anyone is curious, I believe Asus usually uses an Avermedia TV tuner similar to THIS.

 

This is awesome, tv tuner or not there is another pci-e slot, plenty of possibilities.

 

Even better this makes sense it accounts for all 4 PCI-E port numbers. GPU, Wifi, ExpressCard and the tuner slot.

 

That what I thought at first but then I started to look into the possibilities and only found about three (tv tuner, cellular wireless card, or SSD card). Either way it explains the "missing slot" and does leave an upgrade path for the future.

 

Hmm, that's not a bad idea. You can get a 16GB SSD PCIe for pretty cheap nowdays, I might get one and install my OS on it and just have my programs on the actual hard disk. Would allow the laptop to boot a lot faster






BTW kick @ss job on finding the internal PCIe That's going to help me a lot and I can finally get my TV Tuner internal card (Assuming the heat isn't too much)

 

Whats wrong you've never made anything before? Just about anything that works on an express card slot can be built to work for mini pci-e. My skills are a couple of levels below that. But I imagine I can find some people to do whatever my mind wants lol.

 

Yeah, I've made plenty of things before, it's kind of my job as a electrical design engineer. I will admit though that I have never design any PCIe boards or such circuits but I do know that having a batch of PC boards built and stuffed wouldn't be cheap. Also, the layout of a PCIe bus has very critical constraints and might take a rev or two to get things right. Then there is the firmware and software to consider. So unless it's something SUPER cool that I simply can not live without and can not buy anywhere, it's not going to happen.

I've built PCAs for personal use on several occasions and dabbled a little in software but PCIe is not a home build project in my opinion. So I was simply looking at the off the shelf possibilities.

 

I worked with a friend on a pci card, just to get a set of weather sensors setup. That's as far as I have gone and on my own I couldn't build an am radio. I can follow instructions very well but my ideas never work out on their own. As a kid I had one of those 3000 in 1 kits, anything made with the instructions worked that was about it lol.

More of a coder lol.

That said my friend has just sent me the command to turn the G50's led's on and off all i need todo is enumarate the led id.

 

that would be quite useful for linux. I've just read this thread, has anything moved on since then? did the tv tuner ever get put in there and work?

 

Has anyone tried out using this slot for an ssd OS/boot drive yet?

 

hey guys
subscribing to this thread
please keep us up to date on it
i just got my laptop g50vt and i was wondering what the heck is up with the "tv turner"
great job on the findings!