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Given the 21st century influx of technology related to the media, it comes as no surprise that it is possible to watch TV on the computer. The advantages of this are plain and can be worth the one-off small fee that needs to be paid for reliable television on the computer. Computer monitors are typically smaller and more compact than televisions, and can receive higher resolutions when compared to their larger counterparts.

There are several ways of watching TV on the computer. TV programs can be seen after they are aired , or they can be watched live on the PC, just as on the television. To see individual programs, episodes or movies that have already been aired, often these videos can be downloaded from the internet for an individual fee. Why would you want to do this? Not only is this a legal and rapid manner of obtaining the program that was missed, but the program can then be contained in a single file on your computer for a longer period of time, wherein you can watch it repeatedly. Also, some old TV programs are available for free (legally) at official sites or networks such as the highly popular stage6 video network available at www.stage6.com.

More economical in the long run is to watch and record live TV. Whilst the legalities of recording live TV on the computer will not be covered here, it is easily accomplished through the use of a TV tuner card. A TV tuner card can be easily obtained for about $100 US or less, and enables the user to view live television. Note that an antenna must also be bought, but most TV tuner cards should have a small external antenna supplied if you do not have one from your TV itself.

After purchasing a TV tuner card, it is very easy to watch live TV using bundled software. However, if this software is not to your liking, or if you want software with further features, programs can be bought and downloaded from many companies worldwide.

So what's the advantage of a TV tuner card over downloading individual programs? Quite simply, a TV tuner card not only enables you to watch the latest live television, but also gives you the option of saving them to your hard drive (please note legalities), whilst most of the latest television programs are not freely available on the net. Furthermore, TV tuner cards can give you access to a wide range of broadcasts- and hence you can view analog television or High Definition broadcasts. Hence, this saves you having to purchase accessories for a HDTV such as a set-top box or DVD recorder.

From an economical point of view, you can watch HDTV through a $100 TV tuner card for much less than having to buy a $2000 HDTV and a $200 HDTV set top box. In addition, there exists a burgeoning market for HDTV USB TV tuners, with prices as low as $60. With a simple USB device, similar to a USB drive, one can watch TV on a laptop, or even on any computer with a USB port.

The choice is yours. Whilst the advantages of watching TV on the computer have been outlined above, there are still disadvantages. To name a few, TVs are typically larger than computer monitors, and hence will give a more dynamic cinema' experience. Additionally, the signal strength of a TV (using an aerial mounted on the roof) is usually stronger than the signal from a TV tuner card using a small external antenna.

If you think the advantages of watching TV on the computer outway the disadvantages, then it would surely be a good investment- not only for yourselves, but also your friends, family and future.

Learn more about this author, Anthony Khoo.
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