Sweet chocolate, Sweet TV: DS One-Seg TV tuner adapter

(tags Dual Screen, television, hardware)

So I got the 1400 XBLA point card for this month's Idolm@ster DLC sale. My habit of scoping the Sofmap shop sometimes (always?) makes me regret. It led me to a used Nintendo DS One-Seg TV tuner adapter (ワンセグ受信アダプタ DSテレビ).

It retails for 6800 yen and is only available directly from Nintendo's online store. I heard it was hard to obtain back in November 2007, but since I bought this one used, it must be in supply now.

I completely forgot that I wanted it. Well, I don't really want to watch TV, but I need to learn Japanese. Real Japanese, not anime Japanese. (Yeah right). I will learn CM (commercial) Japanese. It will be epic zany. (Maximum risky?!?) "FRISK! FRESHENS YOU UP!" :-)

It's pretty large, isn't it. It always surprises me about the quality of the used goods from Sofmap. They're sparkling clean and if there's a scratch or something missing, the handy red seal has the description. It seemed to me that this particular unit was unused (opened). In comparison, Book Off is pretty scary because the goods are really in crappy condition. I never go there for anything, even manga.

I haven't used my DS in a long while, and I though I'd be using my Pikachu DS Lite by now. Darn Rubik's Cube hobby. So I'm still slinging the Love and Berry DS Lite with Pikachu skin. The clear plastic tabs here seem to fit snugly even though there's a yellow skin in the way.

I need to use the antennas, even though I'm only about a meter away from the outside. It's really big, huh.

Here's one of the intended uses, watching a Japanese drama/mystery with subtitles. Vertical mode works just as well as horizontal mode. Obviously the TV display is smaller, but the subtitles are crisp and clear (thereis normal size and big size). Not all programs have subtitles, though.

I'm learning through osmosis, really. The program shown above is 「佐々木夫妻の仁義なき戦い」. I though the lead female character here was famous actress Kyoka Suzuki (鈴木京香, picture) who I think is super-fine. At least, she was super-fine in the 1990s. But it was that Last Samurai hotness with the one word name, Koyuki (小雪, picture). Meh. The picture shows someone else, though. It's ... it's someone I don't know but she looks familiar.

Horizontal mode with the dialog log feature. I am amazed that there is a log feature at all (instant win) and that it takes pictures automatically as well. Very nice.

Mmmpht, Johnny Depp. He's dreamy. Well I mean he's a great actor. He's like a leading actor of our time, IMHO. I would watch his movies because he's in it, just like I would for Denzel Washington. But I don't actively watch movies. :-/ Anyways, this movie is supposed to be "bilingual" but even though I set it to alternate audio channel, it's still in Japanese.

I just figured out that I can magnetically attach my DS TV to my rack. I think I need to buy the licensed accessory though, because this 100 yen magnet seems a bit flimsy. Now I want a remote control for this thing, hehe. Touching the screen with my finger makes me feel like I'm Star Trek or Knight Rider. Sweet.

Ouch, the battery is already dying. I started watching at 21:45, and now it's about 24:12. Two hours and counting. (It finally conked out at 24:21, so about 2.5 hours).

There are some deficiencies with this DS TV. The screen is small (compared to the PSP One-Seg TV, but I don't have that yet). The on-screen buttons are quick but not quick enough for my lighting reflexes. The shoulder and XYBA buttons don't seem to do anything, which is a shame. They should be remappable to functions like Show Log, Toggle Subtitles, Change Channel. That would be cool. I was expecting an on-screen program display for all the channels, but perhaps that's too much. Oh, okay, Yahoo TV has me covered. And of course, no recording. I need a PSP for that.

There is a port to add your own antenna. I need lay an antenna wire (unused from my PC's One-Seg adapter) and a charging wire on my rack. I won't move this DS any more, heh.

This is sweet. In fact, maybe I should buy another one. Damn, get me an IV and change my seat to a toilet. I'm never leaving my computer desk/rack now. :-)