TV on PC

[The Sultan]

Looking at getting TV though the PC so i can record digital HD shows and watch on ipod on work commute,

anyway have had a look on ebay, and they are around $20-40 which is a USB, arial and and remote, do these work ok and do you need special software, and/or video cards, pc is about 1 year old and was fairly up-to-date when purchased. a

cheers

 

[hamG]

They'll work fine, you will be able to plug it into a wall socket rather than mess with an antenna trying to pick up all the digital stations at once.

BUT, odds are it will take up a massive amount of HD space unless the built in recorder has its own on the fly encoding or something. Even then, you will probably have to re-code it to fit on your ipod.

 

[The Sultan]

They'll work fine, you will be able to plug it into a wall socket rather than mess with an antenna trying to pick up all the digital stations at once.

BUT, odds are it will take up a massive amount of HD space unless the built in recorder has its own on the fly encoding or something. Even then, you will probably have to re-code it to fit on your ipod.

Size does not worry me too much i have a few ripping/encoding programs that i use already i'll work around that. Most of the shows ill just watch once then delete.

re. the arial i dont have a wall socket near my pc, would the "bunny ears" you get be suffice?

 

[hamG]

Size does not worry me too much i have a few ripping/encoding programs that i use already i'll work around that. Most of the shows ill just watch once then delete.

re. the arial i dont have a wall socket near my pc, would the "bunny ears" you get be suffice?

Hopefully you can work around the recording codecs, because pure basic video were are talking like a meg per 5 seconds and ridiculous shit

The bunny ears should work to an extent (get some channels and not others), just depends in the signal strength at your location. You might need to buy a decent indoor antenna ~$50 with a built in signal booster. Or perhaps nothing at all!

 

[crowman86]

I use http://www.digitalnow.com.au/product_pages/DNTV_hybrid.html
Works great, I just have my 2nd monitor set up as my tv. Watch tv while playing games/doing work = win. 10x better than my 51 cm tv.

I use the extra program you can purchase on that site, DNTV live, easily the best digital tv software going around.

Check out http://forums.dvbowners.com/ really really helpful people on that site and you won't find much better knowledge on the net for Australian tv.

FYI I use an antenna mounted on the roof and run the cable into my room, I live in a poor reception area and bunny ears/antenna provided would not even pick up enough of a signal for analogue.

 

[CF]

I have a question here. I have been using Blaze to try recording programs on my PC but it only does it in multiple 10min files. I can't figure out how to change the setting. I have looked around but cannot find other TV veiwing software to try. Any suggestions?

 

[CF]

I have a question here. I have been using Blaze to try recording programs on my PC but it only does it in multiple 10min files. I can't figure out how to change the setting. I have looked around but cannot find other TV veiwing software to try. Any suggestions?

 

[hamG]

Grab a program which joins video files together. There are plenty out there but I havn't used one in a long time so I couldn't recommened anything.

Back in the day seperating video into smaller files was common, as was re-joining them.

 

[sabre_ac]

Battled with Compro for years...Considering how much tv I watch I realised investing in a decent LCD TV that I could connect to my computer was worth the extra coin.

Things that caused my Compro to freeze:

1. Changing stations too quickly
2. Attempting to record
3. Running too many programs on my computer
4. Watching other videos on my computer

Save yourself the hassel, buy a decent LCD tv with the ability to be connected to the computer (HDMI connection)...Worth it.

 

[Hawk Dork]

Are you talking something like this or can you plumb them in like a tv aerial kind of set up?
With wall brackets and hidden wires?
http://www.uglycable.com.au/storefr...Detail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=117033&c=0&i=193935846

 

[And_ROOS]

I bought a tv card for my pc, but i hate the program that comes with it (winfast PVR2) any better suggestions?