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figmentPez -> RE: TV on the computer (6/25/2008 4:08:44 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Boats
Yes, but you will need basic cable.
If you're going to get cable, I'd make sure to get a TV-tuner with QAM tuning. Here is a brief rundown of television signal formats:
NTSC: Analog broadcast and cable. Analog broadcast will stop in February 2009, and analog cable will be gradually cut down until it's almost non-existant at some point after that. My advice is to avoid tuners that are only NTSC
ATSC: Digital broadcast. Over-the-air television uses this format to broadcast in digital and HD. Many tuners support this format, but it won't tune digital cable.
QAM (clear/unencrypted) - some digital cable. Depending on your cable provider, some digital cable channels will be sent without encryption. This includes both SD and HD content. When I was borrowing my sister's HDTV with a QAM tuner, many basic cable channels were unencrypted, like the Travel channel and Food Network, but some other basic cable was not, like the Disney Channel. About a dozen HD channels were unencrypted as well (including all the local networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox, CW.) Some, but not all, computer tuners support this format, but Windows Media Center doesn't (yet?). The software that comes with the card will have to be used.
QAM (encrypted) - Only one computer tuner supports the cable card necessary to view encrypted QAM content, and it must be purchased with a new computer to work. For the most part, if you want to watch encrypted digital cable channels, you'll need a cable box.
S-video and composite video. The multi-pinned black cable or the yellow RCA-style jack. These are found on many computer tuners, but are not HD.
Component video. The three RCA-style jacks, red, blue and green. This is capable of carrying HD signals, but until recently only professional level capture cards had this type of input. (You'll still spend over $200 to get a consumer level card with this type of input). This is the only way to get HD video from a cable box into a computer.
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I use to have an ATI but it made me want to pull my hair out so I got a cheapie ASUS a few years back. I have been happy with it.
I've been anything but happy with my Asus TV tuner (TV-FM 7133). It's drivers have never been quite right and the software that came with it was dreadful. The only good thing I can say about it is that the remote is well laid-out.
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A few links for you. I have no experience with any of these.
Links 1 - 4 and 6 - 8 are analog only. They'll work until Feb 2009 for broadcast, and they'll work with cable only until the cable companies decide it's not worth supporting analog TV any more. (Cable companies can fit 3 HD channels or 10 digital SD channels into the space required for one analog station signal.) However, if this tuner is just a stop-gap measure anyway, that may not matter.
The only tuner brand I've consistently heard good things about is Hauppage. All other brands I've heard mixed reviews about. The most common complaint about ATI tuners is that they don't support Linux very well. I haven't heard many reports that they're frustrating or unreliable. What model of ATI tuner did you have trouble with Boats?
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USB would be the easiest to set up.
USB would be the easiest to physically install... I'm not sure about the entire setup.
TheDivaBrat, What can you tell us about your computer? Is it a laptop or desktop? How old is it?
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