What does a TV Tuner Card Do?

[4fingerwu1]

Does this acually allow you to watch TV on your pc?
Does it go into a PCI slot?
If I have cable internet do I automatically get cable TV on my PC?
How much do they cost?
Thanks for the Help

 

[NutBucket]

yes
yes (tho you can get AGP cards with integrated tuners)
no
from $30 to hundreds for high-def models

 

[FrogDog]

Yes they go into a PCI slot and yes they allow you to watch TV on your PC. No, you don't get cable TV just for having cable internet (unless they're sending you the TV signal as well for some reason).

 

[KingNothing]

yes
yes
no
www.newegg.com
moron

 

[JC]

Yes, you can watch tv on your PC. Most are PCI slot, some are USB. I dunno about your cable connection. Cards can be had for $40 and up (like a WinTV-Go).

 

[KenGr]

A tip on using these cards (I have an ATI TV Wonder PCI card). They work OK but the tuner is very weak. They won't work with antennas at all and need a very strong cable signal. I had lots of snow/interference problems in my current setup and I inadertantly solved it by hooking a VCR up to it. The card has a breakout box and the capability to use cable in, S-VHS in, and RCA plugs. I used RCA plugs from the VCR and use the VCR as a tuner and suddenly the picture is top quality, as good as any decent TV.

 

[4fingerwu1]

ahhh I see
Thanks for the replys

 

[Miramonti]

they work great, I don't even have a regular tv. I used to use it with the broadcast channels, now with cable channels. Dscaler is the best software to use altho its somewhat resource heavy.

 

[Iron Woode]

Rule #1:

Don't buy an ATI TV tuner.

Also, where I am, in order to get cable internet Rogers (my ISP) had to piggy-back it to a standard cable TV transmission. In other words I can get basic cable for free by ordering just the cable internet.

But I have premium cable so I installed a good splitter and can watch TV and surf in the same room with no slow down in internet speed.

A good Tuner Card should be PCI. There are numerous companies to choose from, ie: MSI (TV@anywhere), Hauppauge, Asus, etc...

 

[Staples]

Leadtek something or other. I installed WinXP many months ago and ever since, it reboots every time I try to install the drivers so guess what? I guess I am not really using one after all. I only had it for a month prior to this and maybe used it once or twice.

 

[NutBucket]

Rule #1:

Don't buy an ATI TV tuner.

Funny, I've had great experiences with ATI products. The other two tv-tuners I've had, Voodoo3 3500 and 3DFX VoodooTV 200 both stunk. Course, 3DFX is out of business now so that may have had something to do with it