Mission impossible 56(or whatever): Turning my computer into a tv!

So

I really have no clue on where to start on this, so I am asking you good and clever guys first, coz I tried googling '9600GT TV ' and variations and all the obvious stuff but no help.

Firstly I would like to know whether my 9600GT 1024MB can at all be used as a TV.

It has that cable that plugs into the 9600GT that splits into the red green and blue ends. But from there I honestly don't have a clue.

HELP!!! Please, I feel like an idiot with this.

Appreciated!

To use your computer as a tv, you need a tv card or usb tuner. Then you need an antennae. Those sockets on your card are probably video outputs that you would plug into a recorder.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Option 1: Buy a TV tuner and use Media Center or one of the 3rd party TV applications for Windows (such as GB-PVR or MediaPortal) or MythTV for Linux. Use your graphics card to output to a TV or monitor - ideally using HDMI, DVI or DisplayPort or even VGA. Component and Composite are pretty @#$%&.

Option 2: Use your PC to output video from the likes of (in the UK) iPlayer, ITV Player, Sky Player, etc. I've no idea if other countries have equivalent services. You'd still need to output to a monitor or TV in the same way.

Option 3: Use your PC to output random video files (such as DVDs or films played through a program on the PC) to a monitor or TV as above.

Option 4: Use an Xbox or something as a media extender, setting up your PC with a TV card and Media Center and then connecting to it through an Xbox which allows it you to have a separate TV and PC in completely different rooms if necessary, then using the Xbox to output the media to the TV. You can then use this to show live TV. Never used this, so can't verify how it works, but I know others have done it.

Option 5: Use a media streamer such as this which will stream video/audio/photos from your PC over the network, then connect to the TV. Again the PC doesn't need to be connected to the TV directly. A bit like the Xbox media extender above - more flexible, yet you won't be able to show live TV this way.


I use option 1. I've got a digital TV card which tunes into my aerial in the same way a normal TV/digital box would, then allows me to watch or record TV on my PC. One difference to how many might use this - I've got a 24" monitor, so I don't need a TV in my room - I use my monitor as the TV.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2010 04:42PM by gav.

I'm also on option one, I have a HD TV card and can watch TV on a small screen while surfing the intertube or full screen if I want. When I extended the house by adding a room, I installed an extra antennae plug point just for the computer.

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Thanks for the helpful replies, it has really cleared up a few things I was wondering about.

The first thing is that I don't have a TV, only the CRT monitor of the computer, which will have to do for now as TV's aren't in our budget right now.

So my plan is to use an antenna to receive our local TV stations, and use it with the current computer we have on the current monitor, which kind of points to option 1.

What I can deduce from what you guys are basically saying is that irrespective of what graphics card I have:
1. I still need a TV tuner card, is that right?

2. And this can be a USB, or what other ports? Standard PCI I presume... ???

3. Do I plug the antenna into the TV tuner card? My guess is yes but I may be way off.

Thanks mortal and gav, hope that summed up what you're trying to tell me...?

1) yes.

2) USB, PCI and PCIe. The only concern with USB is that you'll have a stick coming out of the PC with a thick cable attached to it, which will make it easy to get knocked out, kicked, stamped on, which at best will pull the stick out and at worst snap the stick. Not really a concern if you'll be plugging it in around the back of the PC, but something to consider if you intend to use a USB port on the front/top/side.

3) yes. Just make sure you get the right type of tuner - a digital tuner won't tune into an analogue signal for instance. If like most of the UK you have both analogue and digital signals available, then obviously go with digital. You can also get dual tuners which will allow you to record 1 channel while watching another (or record both). You won't need 2 cables usually, but it will depend on the model.

Just to confirm before you purchase anything, you will need Windows XP Media Center Edition, Vista Home Premium, Vista Ultimate or Windows 7 Home Premium up, or you'll have to use a 3rd-party application, which while often better in terms of functionality and flexibility, aren't usually the most stable.

I have Windows 7 Professional so that would be fine?

AFAIK there are both signals in South Africa at the moment, if not we have at least analogue.

Seems like I can get a 2nd hand PCI from a friend, just finding out whether it's analogue/digital/both.

Just another stoopid question regarding the card - I see you need a set top box for the digital, do I need that or does the card itself have this functionality?

Thanks, it seems like this is starting to go somewhere!

Your help is really appreciated!

Win 7 Pro is fine. Win 7 is different from Vista and goes back to the old XP methodology that each edition contains everything from the previous edition, so Ultimate > Pro > Home Premium > Home Basic > Starter. The exception is Enterprise, which so far as I'm aware is exactly the same as Ultimate, but can use volume licensing keys (activated through a Key Management Service) and isn't available to the general public.

The tuner card is the digital box. All you need is the software to show the picture (eg Windows Media Center).

Ohhh cool so I need basically only the Tuner card and an antenna that receives the same input signal as the tuner card, hence that signal is available in South Africa. This is correct?

Simple enough thanks gav and mortal, especially gav.

If I had to pay you for all the advice you've given me on this forum

That is correct. Just ensure that the aerial can receive a signal outside of the computer too - if a digibox/TV can't tune into a signal then the computer won't be able too either.

The only problem you would have is with encrypted TV, such as Sky or Virgin in the UK. There are solutions, but they look expensive, cumbersome and I've no idea how well they work.

We don't even have that, lol! As far as I know, we only went to digital last year, and Satellite we have, but that's waaaay too expensive.

OK thanks gav, so I got what I was looking for!

It was a NexTek Tuner card - USB with a little antenna which receives the digital signals of our local broadcaster(SABC).

Comes with a nifty app called Blaze HDTV 6.0, which basically does everything, OK the scanning takes about an hour and the Antenna must be at a window as the signal isn't strong enough through walls to be picked up, but no biggie!

Wonderful stuff, love it.

Gav and Mortal we(especially my fiancee ) are eternally grateful... Thank you once again... You guys really showed me the way!

Just remember, this is your special home away from home lol

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

OK, my payment is for you to work out how I can watch the final 3 days of group stages of the World Cup... while on a bus coming back from London with a bunch of school kids.

I'm wondering if there's some way to stream something from a Slingbox or something to a Windows Mobile phone or better still my laptop.

At worst I'm going to have to bribe the bus driver to turn off High School Musical from the DVD player and get him to tune into the radio.

LOL! Coincidentally I am staying in the same area as the Brazil football team here in SA...

As for a slingbox - I dunno even what it is but it sounds like some modified Speedo used by Cisco Adler

Talk about radio - this tuner can even receive most local radio channels! Lovely.

Thanks mal, I spend waaaaay to much time on here already, my lady doesn't mind yet, but they say the nagging only starts AFTER getting married. Guess there's only one way to find out...

Don't get married to find out, ask someone instead! Get an expert opinion....ask a husband LOL!

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

mortal Wrote:
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> Don't get married to find out, ask someone
> instead! Get an expert opinion....ask a husband
> LOL!

Are you married? Or are you too young?

Can't ask a husband - they're all liars, just ask their wives(coz they know everything)

No, I'm not married....why buy a book when you can join the library!

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[www.mediafire.com] Some say you should click it, you know you want to. [www.gp4central.com] <----GP4 Central

Well I did all of this TV tuning for mine, so she's clearly a very interesting book

But good analogy, nevertheless...

mortal Wrote:
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> No, I'm not married....why buy a book when you can
> join the library!


i get the feeling you tend to write your own stories more often than not.

Sim

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