TV on the computer - Wow!

[dex]

I know that this might sound old school to many but here it goes.

I just go a TV tuner for my laptop that can get HDTV. So I can watch TV (and record it), serf the web, write in word and do Excel - amazing.

Wait a second - that sounds like what I did at work.

 

[haha]

Dex, I am interested in this. Could you give more details?

Ha

 

[dex]

It is a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950 - Circuit City - on line - has them on sal for $64 - You can order on line and pick it up at the store.

It picks up HDTV and analog so it will work after 2009 - looks great.

I'm watching "The Unit" as I type.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ha - You'll need a computer with a USB 2.0 port for this. Older computers with USB 1.1 wont do.

 

[dex]

It doesn't handle cable or sat'l TV connections - But the over the air HDTV is clear and sharp - no delays or slowdowns.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It should do analog cable, just not digital or high def. And it would record the output of a satellite receiver, but couldnt change channels.

Some other models can do digital cable and satellite, and change the channels with an infrared remote pigtail.

At the end of the day, if you're going to do a lot of this and being 100% sure you get your shows, using a tivo with tivotogo is tough to beat.

 

[twaddle]

After playing around with several tuners and software packages, I finally gave up on the computer-as-PVR concept. It's not ready for prime time.

However, I do love my Slingbox.

 

[Marshac]

Now that you own a tuner, you need to download Orb (it's free).

Orb

You can watch your shows from anywhere you can access the web- like your cell phone. Pretty cool.

 

[dex]

FREE CABLE TV NOW - I plugged the unit into the cable outlet - now I have 80 cable channels for free!!!!!!

 

[haha]

FREE CABLE TV NOW - I plugged the unit into the cable outlet - now I have 80 cable channels for free!!!!!!

Great! But maybe you should pull that post?

Ha

 

[FinanceDude]

Great! But maybe you should pull that post?
Ha

 

[dex]

I wonder if this is the little secret of Cable TV - you don't have to pay for it - just hook up your TV.
I don't have any premium channels but all the basic.

 

[TromboneAl]

FREE CABLE TV NOW - I plugged the unit into the cable outlet - now I have 80 cable channels for free!!!!!!

Hold on here, I'm missing something.

If you have a functional cable outlet in your house, doesn't that mean you're paying for cable?

 

[dex]

Al,
I know I'm not paying for cable. I live in a town home community. Some people have cable TV, some people have Sat'l TV.
All I did was plug in the WinTV into the cable outlet - hit search for channels and I can view the channels.
Maybe someone could explain how this happening.

This is a new community. I'm the first person in this house so the cable company hasn't forgotten to disconnect the previous owner.

I am thinking that this is the secret of Cable TV. When people move into a new house they think they have to call up the cable company to get service.

Maybe all that needs to be done is hook up the TV.

 

[justin]

Dex, do you have an antenna? I've heard digital over the air HDTV looks great, but when I researched it, it sounded like I would have to have a decent antenna to get reception of all the network tv channels (abc, cbs, fox, nbc, pbs, etc). What does your setup look like?

 

[FinanceDude]

Dex, do you have an antenna? I've heard digital over the air HDTV looks great, but when I researched it, it sounded like I would have to have a decent antenna to get reception of all the network tv channels (abc, cbs, fox, nbc, pbs, etc). What does your setup look like?

You need a HDTV antenna, costs from $50-$100 depending on what you get. Mine sits on top of the entertainment console, and works fine.

If the reception gets bad, I will mount it up in the attic facing the transmitters, and run the cable to the TV. Either way,I get 13 HD channels, enough for me........

 

[dex]

Justin,
The WinTV came with a small antenna that got all the the HDTV stations in my area. With HDTV you either get the picture or you don't. It isn't like analog where the quality of the picture is based upon the signal strength.

 

[ERD50]

You need a HDTV antenna,

I think a 'regular' antenna works.

AntennaWeb

They don't seem to make a distinction here. Just size of antenna based on distance and strength of the broadcast.

Somewhere (maybe on that link), I think I read that if you pick up the analog signal in that frequency range reasonably well, you should be able to get the digital signal with that same set-up.

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm guessing that here in the boonies, 30 miles and hills between us and the closest town of over 20,000 residents, that there wouldn't be any usable signals. Good assumption?

I haven't been able to find any coverage maps.

 

[ERD50]

T-Al, click on that 'choose an antenna' box on that antenna web site. You enter your location and it figures out all that for you. Not a map, but color codes the strong, weak, poor stations for you.

Address

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

Just what I wanted, thanks. But no digital stations in range for me (two vhf and one uhf).

 

[segfault]

Al,
I am thinking that this is the secret of Cable TV. When people move into a new house they think they have to call up the cable company to get service.

Maybe all that needs to be done is hook up the TV.

Sounds like the cable installer forgot to install a signal trap when they installed your cable modem, assuming you have a cable modem.

 

[dex]

Sounds like the cable installer forgot to install a signal trap when they installed your cable modem, assuming you have a cable modem.

I don't have a cable modem - I just plugged in the WinTv into the cable outlet.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

A lot of times the cable company has forgotten to unplug the line or forgets (or is too lazy) to install a trap or filter for cable users.

Plugging in and using it is actually a crime, even if the cable company has failed to do their jobs and block the usage. The cable company folks can detect it although I suspect they're too lazy unless someone is a blatant chatty type...I've seen the tool the use and it shows how many splits and used taps exist on each drop. Quite a few have been successfully prosecuted for it.

Probably another one of those naked running across the road with a bag over your head things where it works out for you 99.5% of the time.

 

[Nords]

Probably another one of those naked running across the road with a bag over your head things where it works out for you 99.5% of the time.

We had a similar situation with our cable lineup... we subscribed to "rock-bottom basic" and ended up with "one level higher standard".

It didn't seem worth selling our souls for free MTV & VH1, and I figured the consequences would be far more hassle than struggling with my ethics, but boy was I wrong. By the time I waded through the interactive voice-response (I know, oxymoronic) customer-service (oxymoronic again) menus and dealt with the "Oh sir I'm sure you're mistaken" condescension, we felt pretty justified in our "Hey, we tried" attitude.

Three years later most of our street's homes got a form letter stating "Due to a change in our equipment configuration, you may have inadvertently been receiving more cable channels than indicated for your level of service. We're realigning our system to improve its reliability while upgrading your features, and this is your chance to enhance your subscriber relationship by..."

In other words they turned their mistake in to a marketing opportunity. So even if you have a big flashing "FREE CABLE TV HERE!" neon sign in your driveway, you'll be viewed as just another potential customer.

I'm not looking forward to the digital switchover. Between our kid's Netflix habit and our spouse's broadcast preferences, though, maybe I can make a case for ditching the cable company. Or maybe they'll finally come up with ala carte subscriptions.