A Closer Look

The DVB-T USB Receiver

Taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that the AirTV-1000U is certainly not small. It fits on a CD, but should be around 10 cm long. The overall built quality does not really feel very good as the plastic does buckle noticeably under pressure and antenna does not hold in place well after opening and closing the unit a few times. AirLive has placed their logo on this black antenna, which can be whipped out for better reception. This part is actually of better built quality as the white body of the AirTV-1000U. Nonetheless, if you handle the unit with care, it should hold out quite nicely.


The USB connector is hidden under a cap. Such a loose piece just asks to be left somewhere and you may find yourself searching for that lost cap sooner than later. It would have been nice to have some sort of mechanism to hide the USB connector within the body of the unit itself. This would possibly also reduce the overall size of the AirTV-1000U. The IR receiver is built into the unit and becomes visible with the antenna flipped up. Reception of the infrared unit is as expected for something of this size. You will need to aim the remote at the receiver like a hawk and it won't work when you are more than a couple of feet away. The placement of the IR receiver within the body of the AirTV-1000U in combination with the weak output signal strength result in this problem.


To get up and running you will only need to connect the AirTV-1000U to a USB 2.0 port. It is so large, that you will most likely loose access to any neighboring connectors on a notebook or even on the backplate of the PC.

The Remote Control

The remote has a much better build quality that the DVB-T receiver and is of ample size. The underside holds a compartment for the included battery.


The buttons of the remote are domed and there is some tactile feedback when a button is pressed. You will find all the major functions on the unit, including channel and volume switching, a number pad, playback control and a mute button to mention a few. The third button on the bottom row reads "Shapshoot", which is intended to take a screen shot of what is currently playing. Seems like AirLive missed that spelling mistake and went into mass production with the error.