Software installation is quick and painless - it takes less than one minute and the folder occupies about 11 MB of hard drive space. After installation, you simply plug in the OnAir HDTV into your USB2 port. The TV viewing application doesn't launch automatically, so you have to manually double-click on the icon.

I did my test inside a Starbucks in Ontario, California, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. I first did a channel scan, to see what channels the antenna could pick up. Even from inside a coffee shop, I was able to pick up several channels.

It takes about two minutes to do a full channel scan. Flipping through the channels, I found Erik Estrada and started to wonder if I could become rich buying real estate from California Pines!

The player interface is clean and functional, and clearly displays the signal strength of the channel.

If your laptop can't display 1920x1080 pixels, then you won't get the full power of HDTV. The video will be resized to fit into your display. The picture looked quite good on our 1024x768 Asus Z9000 screen.