TV Tuner Cards

[William R. Mosher]

Has anyone else come to the conclusion that, unless it is really necessary, that a TV Tuner Card in a computer is a waste of time and computer power and that it would be better just to run the cable to a real TV. My wife likes to dominate the TV so having a TV Card means that I can watch what I want when she is watching what she wants. However, if by myself, I would rather just watch TV on the TV.

William

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

Not to mention that a decent 25 inch TV costs about the same as the tuner
card...


Has anyone else come to the conclusion that, unless it is really necessary,
that a TV Tuner Card in a computer is a waste of time and computer power and
that it would be better just to run the cable to a real TV. My wife likes to
dominate the TV so having a TV Card means that I can watch what I want when
she is watching what she wants. However, if by myself, I would rather just
watch TV on the TV.

William

 

[Keith Schaefer]

Well, what about people that record live TV to the hard drive, make custom
DVD and CD, etc. I have an HD cable box that has built in hard drive. Yeah,
I can record a show and watch it later, but I cannot get it into the PC
because the content is totally encrypted. Now, with my tuner card that
actually has an s-video input, I can take the s-video out of the tuner box
and capture LIVE cable into the PC. Then I can do whatever I want with the
recording.

There are indeed useful reasons to have a tv tuner card in a PC.....

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

You and I are in total agreement, but the person who started the thread was
not doing any recording, at least according to his post. He merely is using
his computer as a live broadcasting monitor to watch SPIKE when his wife is
using their television to watch Oprah.


Well, what about people that record live TV to the hard drive, make custom
DVD and CD, etc. I have an HD cable box that has built in hard drive. Yeah,
I can record a show and watch it later, but I cannot get it into the PC
because the content is totally encrypted. Now, with my tuner card that
actually has an s-video input, I can take the s-video out of the tuner box
and capture LIVE cable into the PC. Then I can do whatever I want with the
recording.

There are indeed useful reasons to have a tv tuner card in a PC.....

 

[William R. Mosher]

More likely ESPN, History Channel, the Science Channel or the Military Channel. There really isn't too much out there that I feel compelled to record. I can if I want to but that is rare. My wife prefers VH1, Forensic Files (and shows like that), and Dr. Phil.

William
You and I are in total agreement, but the person who started the thread was
not doing any recording, at least according to his post. He merely is using
his computer as a live broadcasting monitor to watch SPIKE when his wife is
using their television to watch Oprah.


Well, what about people that record live TV to the hard drive, make custom
DVD and CD, etc. I have an HD cable box that has built in hard drive. Yeah,
I can record a show and watch it later, but I cannot get it into the PC
because the content is totally encrypted. Now, with my tuner card that
actually has an s-video input, I can take the s-video out of the tuner box
and capture LIVE cable into the PC. Then I can do whatever I want with the
recording.

There are indeed useful reasons to have a tv tuner card in a PC.....

 

[Tom Scales]

Has anyone else come to the conclusion that, unless it is really necessary,
that a TV Tuner Card in a computer is a waste of time and computer power and
that it would be better just to run the cable to a real TV. My wife likes to
dominate the TV so having a TV Card means that I can watch what I want when
she is watching what she wants. However, if by myself, I would rather just
watch TV on the TV.

William

If all you want to do is watch TV, then yes, it is a lousy solution. If you
want to timeshift multiple shows, including 7 standard def tuners and 2
high-def tuners, and watch them at my convenience on everything from my
1080p HD set to my old big screen SD TV to my computer to my Dell Axim to
any browser with internet capability, then it is simply unbelievable.

Tom

 

[Zapper]

I am one who also finds benefit from it.
I DVr shows for my son, I watch sports while he(or my wife) are watching the
HD TV, I DVR shows to be put out on DVD. It is nice to have running in a
window when I am doing other stuff on my widescreen monitor.
More likely ESPN, History Channel, the Science Channel or the Military
Channel. There really isn't too much out there that I feel compelled to
record. I can if I want to but that is rare. My wife prefers VH1, Forensic
Files (and shows like that), and Dr. Phil.

William
You and I are in total agreement, but the person who started the thread was
not doing any recording, at least according to his post. He merely is using
his computer as a live broadcasting monitor to watch SPIKE when his wife is
using their television to watch Oprah.


Well, what about people that record live TV to the hard drive, make custom
DVD and CD, etc. I have an HD cable box that has built in hard drive. Yeah,
I can record a show and watch it later, but I cannot get it into the PC
because the content is totally encrypted. Now, with my tuner card that
actually has an s-video input, I can take the s-video out of the tuner box
and capture LIVE cable into the PC. Then I can do whatever I want with the
recording.

There are indeed useful reasons to have a tv tuner card in a PC.....

 

[Guest]

Okay I see your point. However, I like two shows on at the same time. The
Unit and Law and Order. So nice to record one on the computer to watch at my
leasure. I especially like zipping through the commercials. Watch a TV 2
hour movie in 1hr 35 min........

Watching my Yankees as I write this....

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

TIVO and Slingbox. Only way to fly!


Has anyone else come to the conclusion that, unless it is really necessary,
that a TV Tuner Card in a computer is a waste of time and computer power and
that it would be better just to run the cable to a real TV. My wife likes to
dominate the TV so having a TV Card means that I can watch what I want when
she is watching what she wants. However, if by myself, I would rather just
watch TV on the TV.

William

If all you want to do is watch TV, then yes, it is a lousy solution. If you
want to timeshift multiple shows, including 7 standard def tuners and 2
high-def tuners, and watch them at my convenience on everything from my
1080p HD set to my old big screen SD TV to my computer to my Dell Axim to
any browser with internet capability, then it is simply unbelievable.

Tom

 

[Tom Scales]

Your TIVO can record 7 SD and 2 HD at the same time, like my PC?

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

"Course not, but I do have 4 TIVO's and a little freebie hack that sends
whatever I want, live or playback, to my laptop or my PDA via Wi-Fi.

So handy at the airport or the hotel, catching up on all those back episodes
of Drawn Together!

Your TIVO can record 7 SD and 2 HD at the same time, like my PC?

 

[Homer J. Simpson]

If all you want to do is watch TV, then yes, it is a lousy solution.

I multitask a lot, and sometimes I want a TV on. I already have a CRT and 3
LCD panels on my desk, so I don't need a TV to take up even more room, or
need the TV display to take up an entire screen. So, a tuner card is a
great solution for me.

If I want to actually take the time to sit down and watch something and not
do anything else at the same time, that's what my projector (also coming out
of the PC) is for.