Five Ways to Watch TV on Your PC

Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:34AM EST

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Sure, you might be sitting at a desk and not really thinking about 24, but why wouldn't you want to watch TV on your computer? Your LCD almost certainly has better resolution than your TV, and when you're right in front of it, with two decent speakers (or more), it can be a pretty good way to watch a show or two.

Here are five ways to get television on your computer.

1) TiVoToGo - If you have a Series2 TiVo, you need TiVoToGo, which lets you download anything you've recorded on your TiVo to your PC. The shows can't be shared with other computers, so if you're planning on watching TV on the road, make sure you install TiVoToGo on your laptop. It's free, people!

2) Official Web Downloads - Check it out: The TV network may keep copies of its shows online for free download. NBC, for example, has some full episodes of its prime time shows here, and CBS has full episodes of a full eight prime time series available to watch online (bottom left corner). Visit your favorite shows' official website (or their network) to see what's available.

3) Classic TV - Like bad TV from the '70s and '80s (and just about any other decade)? Check out In2TV (Internet Explorer only, and even then it's buggy), which has archives of dozens of old shows (some much, much worse than others).

4) Overseas TV - Wanna brush up on your Hungarian? Check out BeelineTV, which streams about 100 networks from countries ranging from China to Slovenia and beyond. You'll find plenty more a wwiTV, which also includes numerous U.S. local channels broadcasting online.

5) When in Doubt, Buy It - You can buy or rent TV show episodes a la carte all over the web. Most popular is probably the iTunes Store: Note that you don't actually need an iPod to buy movies here if you just want to watch them on your computer. An episode is typically $1.99. Amazon Unbox also has similarly prices (though few have much good to say about it).

I already hit five? I haven't even covered connecting your TV to your cable with a tuner card or a USB TV tuner. There's also the famous Slingbox, and you can always buy or rent TV shows on DVD, too. Post your other suggestions for getting TV on your computer in the comments section!

Comments on Five Ways to Watch TV on Your PC

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  • 6 Posted by jpdigsbass on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Check out slingbox, www.slingmedia.com/ Allows you to watch your tv from home anywhere

  • 7 Posted by ccbfernandes on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's true what lvrwm said, i can't watch any of the shows I love because I'm outside the US.

  • 8 Posted by jpepsu2009 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    www.slingmedia.com-- it allows you to directly connect to your home cable/ tivo / DVR or satellite box at no monthly charge and watch tv through a windows smartphone, laptop, or pocketpc from anywhere in the world-- it works great, and so far we've had no problems wit h it

  • 9 Posted by chipkitley on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you have a Media Center PC That is always turned on and hooked up to Cable you can watch any live TV show or recorded TV from it through Orb.com if you are anywhere else and have a high speed internet connection.

  • 11 Posted by lolo_kirkpatrick on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    you can also go on ABC Full Episode Player, and you dont even have to download it.

  • 12 Posted by asgrainbow on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    my husband also travels quite extensively outside of the US and he got a device called sling box... It connects to your reciever at home and you can watch from overseas.. you can change channels too... the resolution is great :) We also use skype to communicate instead of cellphone..is free to download and very good connections like your in the same room :)

  • 13 Posted by ada3465 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Slingbox is the easiest and probably most prevelant way to watch tv from another location. Why is this not on the list?

  • 14 Posted by psychogator on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    You can watch your own TV (Cable or DirecTV) by using Slingbox. Plug in your slingbox to your home DSL or Cable Network and your cable or DirecTV box and with your computer wherever in the world, you can watch your TV on your computer. You can change channels and have all the features of a remote by the software that you install on your PC. Slingbox is my favorite Christmas present I've gotten .... EVER!

  • 16 Posted by lll4curry on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    You can convert your monitor into a TV tuner with this KWorld tuner thru your USB port. Best price at Buy.com. Check it out. http://www.buy.com/prod/KWorld_USB_2_0_Universal_TV_Tuner/q/loc/101/202247133.html

  • 18 Posted by jalabi99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    For those Americans who are abroad and who cannot watch their favorite network shows via the Internet sites of the networks...that's why they invented BitTorrent and YouTube :) It works well the other way around as well. For instance, if you are in the States you will probably not be able to watch "The Amazing Race Asia" -- but most episodes of the show are available for viewing on YouTube. Go to a site like www.YouTubeX.com or www.KeepVid.com and you can download the resulting .FLV file to your machine and watch it over and over to your heart's content. ...just don't say I told ya so though... :)

  • 20 Posted by acsmedic36 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    dont forget you can get a sling box and watch live tv as well as stuff saved on your dvr.

  • 21 Posted by chrisrottach on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    www.joost.com is awesome, and free! full screen and not streaming video.

  • 22 Posted by standupbarrels on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    check out www.tvtonic.com for state of the art technology.....they are on microsofts new vista ultimate...

  • 23 Posted by skalywag2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why would I want to sit in front of my computer any more than I already have to? I much prefer the comfort of an arm chair and a high resolution view.

  • 24 Posted by jimmychoochooshoes on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    You could also go to the channel's website. for instance, if the show you wanted to watch was on abc channel just go to abc.com and they usually have a full episode player on the website for free. the downside is that you have to be connected to the internet throughout the entire episode.

  • 25 Posted by bobghosio on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    Slingbox is the best! I love mine and theres many ways to hook it up. Even with wireless through my house to the cable to my computer at work, virtually no loss of quality. greatest invention ever!

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