Crave

FM to the Internet: I ain't dead yet. The average person listens to 17 hours of terrestrial radio every week, and that's according to a Pandora executive.

Sure, you've loaded a fabulous collection of digital audio tracks onto your MP3 player, but what do you do when your tunes begin to sound just a bit too familiar? That's where an FM tuner comes in. In many places, FM radio still offers plenty of worthwhile content for your listening pleasure, and it can provide a refreshing break from your regular rotation. Plus, it's a great extra to have at the gym, allowing you to tune into the TVs and take your mind off that vigorous workout.

So, if you're not among the uberdiligent who always remember to sync up their players for fresh content, be sure to pick one with an FM tuner onboard. Unfortunately, although many players come with this nifty feature, not all of them deliver quite as advertised. In fact, we've come across a few that cut in and out even with strong signals.

But don't fret. There are several players available with decent FM tuners; in fact, I easily found six with great-sounding radios. Not only that, but each of the players here offers an autoscan function and at least 10 preset slots, so you won't have to fumble around finding your favorite stations. Moreover, several of them, such as the iPod Nano and Zune HD, offer RDS and song tagging.

Check out the radio-worthy MP3 players.

After months of anticipation, singing robot T-Pain has finally unleashed his secret weapon: an iPhone application that gives users the power to make their tone deaf voice sound...just as crappy. But digitized! The iPhone application is called I Am T-Pain, and it might be the end of music as we know it.

Even though T-Pain isn't the first artist to use the Auto-Tuner, this is the easiest and cheapest way to obtain the popular vocoder software that disguises and corrects improper pitch by distorting the human voice.

The $2.99 app is a portable version of the tool that includes an instrumental collection of T-Pain's greatest hits in addition to a "Freestyle" mode to cover your own songs. You can also record yourself singing and easily upload the tracks to various social networks.

I installed the app on my iPhone and it works pretty well, but instead of "Buy you a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" I went for Cher's timeless hit "I Believe" on today's episode of The 404 Podcast. Check it out and let me know if I have a future in the recording industry.

Check out more screenshots of the I Am T-Pain iPhone app after the jump.

That blurry thing under the display is the SR-H2000.

(Credit: Sirius XM)

I went to Sirius XM's New York City headquarters on Wednesday to see what's new. They showed a bunch of docking units and the like, but the only new product that got my juices flowing was a new home tuner, the sleek-looking SR-H2000.

You might think a brand new Sirius tuner (not a table radio) intended to be used with a stereo or home theater system would also offer access to all XM channels, but that's not the case. Sirius subscribers can add "The Best of XM" package for a small upcharge on their monthly bill.

The SR-H2000 includes a wired 12-volt IR input, a menu-selected RS232 control, and an F-type antenna connector. By adding a SIRIUSConnect Tuner or Home Dock, the SR-H2000 can play two different channels simultaneously in separate rooms.

The SR-H2000 features a video output that can be used to display the user interface and programming information on your TV. The included rackmount hardware allows the SR-H2000 to be mounted flush with the front of a rack. You can pause and replay up to 44 minutes of live satellite radio.

No one at Sirius mentioned sound quality, and why would they? It's pretty miserable and I doubt the SR-H2000 will improve my opinion of Sirius' sound.

The new SR-H2000 will be available in the fall primarily through custom installers and specialty retailers for a suggested retail price of $349.

The Haier HLT71 7-Inch LCD TV is currently the bestselling TV on Amazon.

(Credit: Haier)

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It's no wonder, then, that the top two bestselling TVs on Amazon are portable TVs with digital tuners. The Haier HLT71 7-Inch Portable LCD TV sells for $105.99, while the Axion AXN-8701 7-Inch Widescreen Portable Handheld TV is $119.99. Coby's 8-inch TF-TV891 Widescreen LCD TV isn't as popular, partially because of its higher $159.98 price tag, but it still sits in the top 15.

So far we really haven't seen any digital portable TVs from tier-one manufacturers, which explains why all the top-selling portable TVs are from budget brands. We're still waiting for Sony's waterproof Bravia XDV-W600 to show up. (The 4-incher turned up in blogs late last year, but hasn't been heard from since.)

Anybody looking for a new portable TV? (Let's hope that all the old ones don't end up in landfills.) As always, feel free to comment.

The waterproof Sony XDV-W600 may be the future of portable TVs--but we're still waiting for it.

(Credit: Sony)

The Wind just got boob-tube-friendly.

(Credit: MSI)

MSI's newest Wind has gone on sale, upgrading to an Atom N280 processor from the previous N270 for some modest performance gains. What else is new as compared with the last-generation Wind? Four colors instead of two--blue, red, gray, and white, so a family of four could have its own MSI Wind party and not mix up their laptops.

Also new and notable is a TV antenna connector, turning the Wind into a portable broadcast-ready set in a pinch. Most of what we watch these days is on the Internet anyway, but this could always come in handy for live sports or events.

Packed with a six- or nine-cell battery (no three, so you have to live with the "battery bump"), prices start at $380 for the six-cell, and $430 for nine-cell. Both models come with 1GB RAM, a 160GB HDD, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and a 10.2-inch screen--no surprises. The nine-cell also adds 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0, whereas the six-cell just has 802.11 b/g.

The Griffin Navigate adds an FM tuner and inline controls to your iPhone.

(Credit: Griffin Technology)

iPhones and iPods alike famously lack FM tuners, and while apps like AOL Radio, Pandora, and Public Radio Tuner can help pick up the slack, sometimes you just want to spin the dial.

The Griffin Navigate has no dials, of course, but it does bring FM radio to your iPhone (and just about every iPod model, too). It also adds tactile playback controls, effectively solving what is arguably the iPhone's sole interface problem.

For example, when you're listening to music and want to skip to the next song, you have to fish your iPhone out of your pocket, turn it on, unlock it, and then tap the next-track button. And if you've ever tried to rewind 30 seconds in a podcast or audiobook, well, you know how much fun that isn't.

The Navigate sports Play/Pause, Volume, and Shuttle buttons. There's also a Mode button that cycles through various features (including an equalizer!), all of them represented on the gizmo's two-line OLED screen.

Of course, for navigating the FM spectrum, you may want a screen that's a little more generous, hence Griffin's forthcoming iFM app. It identifies your location and lists nearby stations for one-tap tuning. Alas, company reps couldn't say for sure when it would debut in the App Store. Best guess: "Soon."

The Navigate has a list price of $59.99, but with a little Google searching you can find it for under $40. If you've ever wished for tactile controls for your iPhone or just an easy way to tune in your local NPR station, that may seem like a bargain indeed.

A digital TV tuner for $25 is a hard deal to pass up.

(Credit: Newegg)

I was a bit surprised at how many of you disliked the recent LiquidTV TiVo PC offer. However, I can take a hint, so here's a much cheaper TV-on-PC solution: Newegg has the AverMedia AverTVHD Volar USB TV tuner for $24.99 shipped (after rebate). Make sure to apply discount code EMCABAGDJ to get that final price.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, a TV tuner lets you watch live TV (via cable or antenna) on your PC. You can also record and time-shift (pause) shows using bundled software or a third-party solution like Windows Media Center or SnapStream Beyond TV.

The AverTVHD Volar is a digital-only (ATSC) tuner, meaning it uses an antenna to pull down over-the-air digital channels. It comes with a small telescoping antenna, but you may want to connect something larger if you live in a remote area.

The tuner also comes with a carrying case, making it a travel-friendly solution. At home, this would actually be a great second tuner for someone who already has an analog (NTSC) tuner. (By the way, Windows Media Center supports up to four tuners.)

The AverTVHD Volar normally sells for at least $60, so you're definitely getting a deal here. The $20 rebate offer (PDF) expires January 12.

This TiVo-in-a-box comes with everything you need for PC DVR goodness.

(Credit: Nero)

Many times in this space I've sung the praises of TV tuners, which let you watch and record shows on your PC, TiVo-style. Well, now you can get more than just the style: Nero's LiquidTV TiVo PC brings the actual TiVo software to your system.

The retail package includes the software, a TiVo remote, a USB IR receiver, a one-year subscription to the service, and an HD-compatible USB tuner. Normally it sells for $199.99 (way too steep, IMHO), but right now you can get the LiquidTV TiVo PC for $103.99 shipped.

The TiVo software probably needs no introduction--it's nearly identical to what you'd find on a TiVo set-top box, complete with Season Pass and KidZone features (but without extras like music and photos).

The tuner is a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950Q, a top-rated model that normally sells for around $75. It can pull down over-the-air digital signals (a small antenna is included, but you might need something larger), QAM channels, or analog channels. The remote is the same one that comes with the TiVo HD.

I've just received a LiquidTV for review, and so far, so good. The setup instructions could be better (there's a disconnect between the manual and the software installation), and for some reason I encountered some video stuttering in the preview window.

Other than that, I'm really liking this so far. For just over $100, you get the complete TiVo experience on your PC (and your TV, if you connect the two). Definitely worth a look.

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

As someone who's never been a big fan of AM/FM radio, I never really saw the advantage of HD Radio. At first, the all-digital format promised little more than CD-quality digital transmission of existing stations. Then the broadcasters added multicasting, offering "HD2" stations that weren't available at all on analog hardware. They even sweetened the deal by temporarily reducing or suspending commercials on those HD2 stations (though that program has recently ended).

But the thing that most retarded the growth of HD Radio adoption was the price of the hardware. The earliest tabletop HD Radios, for instance, cost upward of $500--not exactly an impulse purchase. In the years since, prices have tumbled: tabletop and in-car models hit $200 last year, and newer HD-enabled clock radios can be found for less than $100 now. Still, as far as in-home options go, none of the models we'd tested had really blown us away.

That's finally changed with the Sony XDR-F1HD. ... Read more