Watching Television On Your Pc How do I do it without buying a TV Tuner

[darran 0]

Which type of hardware would you recommend? A PCI or a USB? Sure a USB would be much more convenient, I can easily stuff it into the port and everything would be much simpler instead of fixing and deal with the insides of the computer which I admit that I am a big failure in that department. I tried to create a DIY PC making use of old monitors, motherboards and CPUs, but it couldn't even work. So this just proves I am not much of a hardware person and will never be. If you ask me anything software-related, I might not feel so loss but the mere mention of the hardware terms which I have seen displayed in this thread, it is something which I am totally knocked away by. From this thread, I have learnt that without a TV Tuner, there is no way I can watch TV on my computer? Am I right to say this? There are external and internal TV Tuners, and everything should just come into place once I get the TV Tuner. My last doubt I have after reading the wonderful response you guys have given in this thread, if I buy a USB TV Tuner, is it any possible that I would be able to plug it into my Laptop and watch TV there instead of a static desktop? Instead of moving the set top box to suit the PC, I was thinking why not move the PC near to the set top box! Last of all, I appreciate the feedback and replies I got from you guys, you have really given a huge helping hand to a hardware noob like myself

[BuffaloHelp 24]

Internal PCI card was used as a demonstration on my last reply. If you prefer you can go with the external USB TV tuner device. USB TV tuner has some advantages compare to internal PCI card--it is easier to install, it is swapable among other computers and it is just as effective as the internal tuner card. The only disadvantage at this time is the price. The USB TV tuner, on an average, runs higher than the PCI card.But then again, what's few extra bills when you can use it for both desktop and laptop? The difference may not be much. USB TV tuner does not require for you to open your CPU or anything that you're not ready to do at this time. So go with the USB TV tuner. It will be installed in a snap.

[darran 0]

I think the USB TV Tuner is probably the thing I want, more expensive but definitely more easier to install and with it, I could probably do it with a laptop too. Thanks for all the replies in this thread, I will most probably get this USB TV Tuner when I get my next month's pay

[brandon10092 0]

I would not go with a TV Tuner unless the directions are easy to understand when you are going to install it and it's a brand you're positive you can trust. I got a TV Tuner for Christmas and it's called WIN-TV or something along those lines. It's off-brand and I only got it because I was going to by a RAID TV Tuner for around $100, but they were all sold out so I got its "rival." Not a good idea. I went to install it, and the hassle was I had to take out my unused modem since my PCI ports were all taken. After that, I install it and as I'm reading the directions I'm basically clueless on installing it. I get the drivers and software installed on my computer, but the troubles begin when I try tuning the c ard. THe instructions vaguely show how to do this and doesn't go into detail if you have a satelite box or something other than regular cable, which is my case.

[darran 0]

In that case, which brand would you recommend? Is RAID a brand of a TV Tuner? I remember reading about this technology being used in today's PC. Are we talking about the same thing? USB looks to be the better option after reading what you have said