USB TV Tuner Card
What Is A USB TV Tuner Card?
A USB TV tuner card allows TV signals to be transmitted to a computer, meaning
that the TV show can be watched on the computer. The card can be connected to the computer via a USB connection.
The USB TV tuner card comes with software which needs to be installed for the convenience of selecting channels,
recording programs and so on. If the provided software has limited features, the freeware MediaPortal is
recommended which can act as a media center for watching and recording digital media.
The TV tuner card and software need to be compatible with the operating system. The majority of
models of USB TV tuner card are for PCs; however, an increasing number are made for Macintosh computers.
More rarely, there are some cross-platform models which come with software options for both Mac and PC. Regardless
of whether the computer is a Mac or a PC, it is recommended that a USB 2.0 computer port be used for the USB TV
tuner card connection. This is because USB 2.0 can transfer data much faster than a regular USB port, resulting in
better resolution when viewing. For those who wish to record a show while watching another (or record two shows at
once) it is important to select a TV tuner which can do this (most, but not all, can); alternatively another option
is to install two individual tuners.
Things To Know If The USB TV Tuner Card Is To Be Used Like A
DVR
Often, the end goal of installing a USB TV tuner card is to allow the computer to act like a
digital video recorder (DVR). In that case, it is important to be aware of some things to look for in a TV tuner.
One is the pause feature. Although the pause function may work perfectly on some models of TV tuner card, on others
a delay of a few seconds occurs before the show is paused, making it difficult to pause the show at a precise spot.
This is where user reviews of tuners will help you in selecting one which does well in handling pausing and other
time-shifting.
Another factor to be aware of for those with digital cable or satellite is the issue of changing
the channel. To get a different cable or satellite channel, the channel on the set-top box must either be changed
manually, or by the TV tuner. However, relatively few tuners can change the set-top box channel. If the TV tuner is
to be used mainly to watch live cable or satellite TV via the computer, then the channel can be changed manually.
However, for purposes of recording cable or satellite TV on a regular basis, it is essential to get a USB TV tuner
card model which can change the set-top box channel. This is because otherwise it would be necessary to always
remember to change the channel (manually) when setting up a recording, and would become impossible to set up a two
sequential recordings on different channels without being there to change the channel in between.
Resolution is another factor to be aware of if a DVR-like experience is desired. The resolution
from a USB TV tuner card which is experienced by the viewer depends on several
things. Obviously, the tuner card itself should be selected to provide sufficient resolution, but in practice it
is also limited by any other applications which may be running on the computer. This is because streaming the TV
signal to the computer is CPU-intensive. So it is important to limit the running of other applications on the
computer when watching a show.
The USB TV Tuner Card Must Be Selected With End Use In
Mind
If the only goal of the viewer is to watch free-to-air channels live via the computer screen,
then almost any USB TV tuner card will work. However, if a DVR-like experience is desired (as
is often the case) there are many more factors to take into account, such as those listed above, when selecting
a USB TV tuner card.
Best USB TV Tuner
| 
