How to watch TV on your PC

NEW DELHI: Welcome to the exciting convergence of the computer, Internet, and television worlds. Your humble PC isn’t just a fantastic work tool any more. It has evolved into the perfect entertainment box.

So, what exactly is a PC-TV? Simplistically put, it is a computer device that lets you watch regular TV and run PC functions at the same time. What we are not talking about here is PC-via-the-Internet.

To turn your PC into a PC-TV system, you need a TV Tuner card. These TV Tuner cards are TV receivers, like a TV set on a card, which are installed on to the PCs. A TV Tuner card is a TV-set-on-a-card for your PC.

Although most PCs don’t have a built-in tuner for watching TV programmes, it is easily possible to add one. Two types are available. Those that plug into the computer via the USB (Universal Serial Bus) port and those that fit inside the PC itself via the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot.

While the former are definitely the easier to install, you need to make sure you have a USB 2 connection for optimum picture quality. Several manufacturers produce both types of TV tuners. The internal TV tuner cards are a bit less expensive than their external brethren. Since both types of devices have actual TV tuners, there is no video to "decode".

External tuners plug into a USB port and generally have a range of inputs, including the typical screw-on coaxial cable. Some also have RCA and S-video connectors, so you can attach a VCR or DVD player to capture video to your computer.

The next big decision is what to watch. Many TV tuner cards offer the five main analogue channels, though some of the later models also provide digital terrestrial, digital satellite and digital cable channels. It’s also possible to buy tuners with a built-in FM radio tuner so you can listen to your favourite radio stations while working on a document or surfing the Net.

Thus like with a regular TV set, you would hook up antenna, or cable TV, or a satellite TV receiver box, to the TV Tuner card installed in your PC and then simply watch regular TV but on the PC which is now your PC-TV.

However, since your TV is on a PC, you can take advantage of your PC functions as well. Like, you can use your Internet connection to download the listing of the forthcoming movies on HBO from the channel's site.

You can also download other supplementary information about TV shows, or even download movies and TV shows that you may be able to access via the Internet. Or engage into what the analysts call `telewebbing’ and `telewebber’ -- where the couch potato watches regular TV (whether on a regular TV set or a PC-TV) and surfs the Internet on a PC at the same time. Surfing particular websites could be in response to what the TV watcher sees on the TV set -- such as watching a cricket match on ESPN on the PC and surfing the related website at the same time -- all on the same monitor.

However, remember that since you usually download or stream the show to your computer, you need to have a broadband Internet connection. The hardware requirements usually vary by service, but Windows 2000 or later, 256MB of RAM, and a decent video card (32MB to 64MB or so) should suffice.

Another thing to consider is the HDTV equation. None of the TV tuners presently are HD-compatible.

However, the quickest way to start watching broadband TV is to stream it directly from the Internet, and the best place to start is at the sites dedicated to individual shows. Currently, most shows are US-based, but it's a matter of time, just like all TV news sites have websites, we may have programs for the Net too.