Three Different Ways To Get TV on Your PC
Marc Sandford
September 27, 2007
It is difficult to believe that it wasn't too long ago when there was only one way to view a TV show: with your television set. You had to be content with what ever programming the major networks dished out for you. If this situation describes you, maybe it is time to learn about what you are missing. Check out the following three tips on how to watch TV on your PC.
1) One approach to watching TV on your PC is to down load the entire movie for free on to your hard drive using BitTorrent networking. BitTorrent networking has been with us for years and is a type of Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing used to down load movies and music.
When a movie is downloaded in a P2P network, it is first broken up and distributed in small pieces to the various people on the network. Then each guy supplies the other with what ever missing piece that they need. This goes on until everyone has a complete file. This process was 'seeded' by the guy who supplied the original intact movie.
The actual process of down loading requires that you install what is called bitTorrent client soft ware. BitComet is a client soft ware that is been around for a while and is very adequate for the job.
Next, you will want to search for a movie by using a torrent search engine such as torrentz.com. Type in your search query and hit return. Click on what ever search result that you like. You will end up at a page with the title of the movie and a 'down load Torrent' button or link. Click on the button and the down load will start. When the transfer is finished, it is your turn to be the 'seed' and allow others to share your downloaded file. This is done by leaving your torrent client soft ware running for a few hours.
Note that this is just an over view and that some of the details of the process were omitted. It is important to know that copyrighted material cannot be down loaded legally. People have been prosecuted for illegal down loads using P2P.
2) If you would like to transfer the TV programs from your television to your PC or laptop it can be easily done with a USB TV tuner. The USB TV tuner is a device that is external to your PC or laptop and has ports that hook up to both your PC and TV set.
The external set up means that installation work is not necessary. This is quite different from the standard TV tuner card that is installed inside your PC. TV signals from the output ports on your television then go into the input ports of the USB TV tuner. The signals, which are modified by the USB TV tuner then go to your computer's USB port.
As with most USB TV tuners, the television shows can be saved to your hard drive as well as paused, rewound and fast forwarded. Burn to DVD functionality is included in some models. Prices range from $50 to $200.
3) One quick and easy way to watch TV on your PC which does not involve hardware or a steep learning curve is to down load specialized soft ware. The soft ware basically connects you to thousands of streaming TV stations using the Internet.
The requirements are very basic: you need a computer with high speed Internet access and some freely available media players. Since you most likely have these basics already, the only cost is the price of the soft ware itself, between $50 and $100.
So now you've got the information about what is out there and how to go about getting it. Next step: go get it! This article dealt with three different techniques on how to get TV on your PC. As far as entertainment goes, there is a lot of good stuff out there.
Get the specifics on the specialized software (method 3) here.
1) One approach to watching TV on your PC is to down load the entire movie for free on to your hard drive using BitTorrent networking. BitTorrent networking has been with us for years and is a type of Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing used to down load movies and music.
When a movie is downloaded in a P2P network, it is first broken up and distributed in small pieces to the various people on the network. Then each guy supplies the other with what ever missing piece that they need. This goes on until everyone has a complete file. This process was 'seeded' by the guy who supplied the original intact movie.
The actual process of down loading requires that you install what is called bitTorrent client soft ware. BitComet is a client soft ware that is been around for a while and is very adequate for the job.
Next, you will want to search for a movie by using a torrent search engine such as torrentz.com. Type in your search query and hit return. Click on what ever search result that you like. You will end up at a page with the title of the movie and a 'down load Torrent' button or link. Click on the button and the down load will start. When the transfer is finished, it is your turn to be the 'seed' and allow others to share your downloaded file. This is done by leaving your torrent client soft ware running for a few hours.
Note that this is just an over view and that some of the details of the process were omitted. It is important to know that copyrighted material cannot be down loaded legally. People have been prosecuted for illegal down loads using P2P.
2) If you would like to transfer the TV programs from your television to your PC or laptop it can be easily done with a USB TV tuner. The USB TV tuner is a device that is external to your PC or laptop and has ports that hook up to both your PC and TV set.
The external set up means that installation work is not necessary. This is quite different from the standard TV tuner card that is installed inside your PC. TV signals from the output ports on your television then go into the input ports of the USB TV tuner. The signals, which are modified by the USB TV tuner then go to your computer's USB port.
As with most USB TV tuners, the television shows can be saved to your hard drive as well as paused, rewound and fast forwarded. Burn to DVD functionality is included in some models. Prices range from $50 to $200.
3) One quick and easy way to watch TV on your PC which does not involve hardware or a steep learning curve is to down load specialized soft ware. The soft ware basically connects you to thousands of streaming TV stations using the Internet.
The requirements are very basic: you need a computer with high speed Internet access and some freely available media players. Since you most likely have these basics already, the only cost is the price of the soft ware itself, between $50 and $100.
So now you've got the information about what is out there and how to go about getting it. Next step: go get it! This article dealt with three different techniques on how to get TV on your PC. As far as entertainment goes, there is a lot of good stuff out there.
Get the specifics on the specialized software (method 3) here.
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