Watching TV on the Computer
 

Hi all,

I was entertaining the idea of watching TV on my computer (17" LCD Panel).

What do I need to do this? Tuner? Interface? Software? Is the cost worth it?

Thanks.

I often find myself with a similar question regarding laptops.
Thanks also.

what you would need is a thing called a pvr card. you could get them at any electronics store. what it does is it plugs into your computer like a vid card with a screw in for cable. you'd prolly need a splitter, but i've found it really useful and now i never have to leave my computer ever....

if it's a desktop the best solution is a TV card like the ATI TV Wonder. If it's a laptop you'll need an external one, such as a usb one. . .like this http://www.baber.com/baber/graphics/...rmedia_usb.htm

Cool,

Thanks guys and oh, good luck to you too filtherton.

I think I'll go with the external USB device for my desktop. That gives me the most flexibility and I can always use it later.

Now, to find the best resolution....

If you're thinking of using Linux on your desktop, then the ATI All-In-Wonder won't work. I have one that works respectably well under Windows, but there is pretty much no support for the Linux world. If you want "just a TV card" instead of an all-in-one, the WinPVR cards by Hauppage are solid, and have good Linux support. I lean on the Linux issue because of the fine MythTV program, which lots of folks are using with success.

If I recall correctly, the resolution for capture will vary based on the image source. over-the-air television will be at a lower resolution than digital satellite. A final note, speaking of digital satellite -- DirecTV boxes and the like often can't be controlled with a tuner card, unless you have additional hardware/software to let the computer send a channel-change signal to the box. If you have 'straight cable' -- in other words, you can just plug an antenna or coaxial cable into your TV and do all channel-changing on the television itself, then the tuner should be fine.

Hope I'm not making something simple, into something complicated... Even with a decoder box, you can change the channels with the box's remote -- I just like to record shows on my computer, and watch them when I'm doing something boring on the PC, or surfing the web.

Thanks for the suggestions folks.

If you're going the MythTV route, here's a guide from our friends the EFF. Kinda sluggish, though.

http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/cookbook/