Want To Watch TV on my laptop, completely new to all this

Digitalism

Not sure where to put this so hello, im new to all this so thought id create my own thread as I need help on this. Basically I want to watch TV from a coaxial connection probably on my dell 1737 laptop running win7 pro. Im not sure on the differences on USB and PCMI, im not sure if I have a PCMI slot even, I think i do though, it just has the dell media controller in it at the moment.

Like does having a tv tuner on your laptop make it basically like a tv on your dekstop of windows? Like is it the same as a tv, like being able to switch channels, tv text etc. Will i get RTE TG4 TV3 or even BBC?

I have a coaxial connection in my room here im pretty sure, so can I use that and connect a coaxial cable into like a USB dongle tuner and watch tv that way? Will the picture be just like it is with a tv using the same cable connected to same coaxial slot here?

So ive been looking on ebay and seeing things like this for cheap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PCMCIA-TV-Tuner-...item3ca94c281c

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Digital-DVB-...item3ca52d4f69

etc.

Are these good and will they work fine for what im after?

Any help or guides or whatever welcome, im new to all this. cheers

wolfric

simply yes. You can get additional software for more features such as recording tv automatically if it doesn't already come with windows media player or windows media center. You can get remote controls for your laptop as well that work with usb.

Digitalism

This one looks good? is it good or is it just alot of unnecessary stuff thats bumping up the price: http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-LAPTOP-DIGITAL-TV-TUNER-CARD-HD-RECEIVER-RECORDER_W0QQitemZ360227912325QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Digital_Set_Top_Boxes?hash=item53df41ba85

Can anyone recommend me a cheap tv tuner card, usb prefferably, around €30-40 or below.

Effluo

Well firstly you should know that it's not the easiest thing to pick up a signal without the card plugged into a proper aerial.

Secondly Ireland is turning digital in early 2011 supposedly and we'll be broadcasting on the Mpeg4 format. There are currently "tests" ongoing throughout Ireland, so it'd be worth your while to figure out if you are in one of the areas they are running the service.

Also do you get UK channels on your tv where you want to use the laptop?

If you do then you could get a mpeg4 tuner even if you're not in the Irish test area.

There are also "hybrids" which do analogue and digital together.

Finally here's a very well priced mpeg 4 tuner
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

I got it a while back it's around €15 delivered, but it does take around 4 weeks to deliver(from honk kong)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

Digitalism

Effluo wrote: »

Well firstly you should know that it's not the easiest thing to pick up a signal without the card plugged into a proper aerial.

Secondly Ireland is turning digital in early 2011 supposedly and we'll be broadcasting on the Mpeg4 format. There are currently "tests" ongoing throughout Ireland, so it'd be worth your while to figure out if you are in one of the areas they are running the service.

Also do you get UK channels on your tv where you want to use the laptop?

If you do then you could get a mpeg4 tuner even if you're not in the Irish test area.

There are also "hybrids" which do analogue and digital together.

Finally here's a very well priced mpeg 4 tuner
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

I got it a while back it's around €15 delivered, but it does take around 4 weeks to deliver(from honk kong)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

Yeah I get UK channels here, I get like RTE 1 and 2, BBC 1 and 2, sky news, ITV etc.
I think its the free view channels. But I have a coaxial connection in my room.
Will that one in that link allow me to say use a coaxial connection to pick up RTE etc with antenna ears, and also use it for connecting sky?

brianeoc

Effluo wrote: »

Well firstly you should know that it's not the easiest thing to pick up a signal without the card plugged into a proper aerial.

Secondly Ireland is turning digital in early 2011 supposedly and we'll be broadcasting on the Mpeg4 format. There are currently "tests" ongoing throughout Ireland, so it'd be worth your while to figure out if you are in one of the areas they are running the service.

Also do you get UK channels on your tv where you want to use the laptop?

If you do then you could get a mpeg4 tuner even if you're not in the Irish test area.

There are also "hybrids" which do analogue and digital together.

Finally here's a very well priced mpeg 4 tuner
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

I got it a while back it's around €15 delivered, but it does take around 4 weeks to deliver(from honk kong)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8325

Hi Effluo,
Just two quick questions about this USB TV Tuner. Do you need extra software for it or is the included software good enough for the job. I've heard in other forums that you may need CoreAVC.

Also do you need a good graphics card for it to be any use? I just have an onboard graphics card with around 256mb of Ram.

Thanks a mill for your time.
Brian

Effluo

brianeoc wrote: »

Just two quick questions about this USB TV Tuner. Do you need extra software for it or is the included software good enough for the job. I've heard in other forums that you may need CoreAVC.

Also do you need a good graphics card for it to be any use? I just have an onboard graphics card with around 256mb of Ram.

Two very good questions.
Well, truth be told i know nothing about the software side of this.
I know some mpegs can only be processed by certain player although i'm pretty sure vlc player with some add on can do pretty much anything you'll want it to.(all free)
I'd say post in the digital tv section for that http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=40


In terms of gpu and will it be good enough. Well give me the model of the graphics card and the model of the processor too. it's quite unlikely however that it would be a problem.

brianeoc

Effluo wrote: »

Two very good questions.
Well, truth be told i know nothing about the software side of this.
I know some mpegs can only be processed by certain player although i'm pretty sure vlc player with some add on can do pretty much anything you'll want it to.(all free)
I'd say post in the digital tv section for that http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=40


In terms of gpu and will it be good enough. Well give me the model of the graphics card and the model of the processor too. it's quite unlikely however that it would be a problem.

Thanks for the quick response, For €15 I've just decided to buy it and give it a shot. On the deal extreme wesbite it also gives some tips on what software to get. CoreAVC seems to be the main one with other add ons but I'll try vlc player first (seeing as it's free).

Thanks again
B

Digitalism

Hey can you let me know what the tuner on dealextreme is like when you get it, thanks, I might go for it also. Also, is the software disc included one of those mini discs or full size cd, as I have a slot loader drive in my laptop. Does it work with Media centre also?

brianeoc

I Will do, Probably take another couple of weeks to get to me. I think the enclosed software isn't compatible with the MPEG4 standard so I'll be downloading some other apps and trying them out.
I'll update you once I get everything up and running.

Cheers
B

brianeoc

I got the wandtv last Tuesday and it installed everything fine (running windows 7). I installed the included blazetv software and it picked up the channels but the picture would play for a second and then freeze for ten seconds. As suggested, I downloaded VLC and tried this which didn't wanna work. I live in westmeath and my transmitter is Cairn Hill which is on 682khz. I tried setting vlc to this but it wouldn't play ball.
Then I tried the altDVB + BDA2 + Coreavc that was suggested before and I got AltDVB working to where it located the channels but the coreavc player didn't want to work. I was probably doing something ar*eways but after a couple of nights hitting my head off a brick wall I stopped using that route. I then read through some of the suggestions that came up on the dealextreme website and one said it worked out of box with windows media center. I downloaded this and hey presto, worked with no bother or head banging. I don't know if you can get windows media center with XP but it comes free with windows 7 pro. Great bit of software that's very user friendly. No hassle setting things up and recording function on it is brilliant.
In summary, WandTV is brilliant and so is windows media center. I might try and get it working on an XP system for the laugh. If I do I'll let you know how I got on.

Digitalism

Ah cool, ive got Win 7 with media centre so its good that it works with that. I might order it now. Is the ariel good that comes with it or do you connect it to coaxial in the wall?

brianeoc

Ariel isn't great that comes with it. It worked for me if I located the ariel beside a window that was nearest the transmitter. Didn't work anywhere else. I just plug into the coax socket in the wall and it's perfect. I'd buy it anyway as it's so cheap.