Five Ways to Watch TV on Your PC

Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:34AM EST

See Comments (440)

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

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 66 Posted by athenaneves2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Best quality and most interesting videos can be found at Brightcove.com

  • 67 Posted by zshortbus on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    I had been searching everywhere and kept being introduced to Pornt Sites when looking to watch actual TV. This article was very helpful thank you.

  • 68 Posted by landeal on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT FREE TV INTERNATIONAL AT: WiFiTV.Com

  • 69 Posted by mky1972 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Get a pc running Windows Media Center which is Window XP version 2005? Or better yet get a machine running Windows Vista Ultimate. These 2 operating systems can accomodate a pc with a tv tuner card that allows for you to run a cable or a satelite dish connection into the pc to watch and record tv shoes.

  • 71 Posted by styl_n_k on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    http://freetube.us.tc/ its free and you can watch espn, fox, cartoon network etc...

  • 72 Posted by virginbrand6000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ck out these tv channels on the web www.tbn.org www.God.tv, www.insperation.net,www.daystar.tv,http://www.higherpraise.com/Television.htm,http://wwitv.com/portal.htm

  • 73 Posted by vaioforsale on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    Clueless people BitTorrents Every show released on video/dvd and currently on TV. WIDESCREEN, NO Commercials. TV Shows: http://www.tvtorrent.com Torrent Client (No install needed) http://www.utorrent.com TV/Movie/Albums torrent search engine http://www.isohunt.com

  • 74 Posted by mokashko on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    I would like to know if this product is for sure free. I have tried so many of these but none worked for me. Let me know if instead of using cable I could use my PC to watch all the regular TV shows or I have to have a special card. I have seen so many of these advertise on the net. This was a very good article and I thank you for sharing the knowledge with the public.

  • 75 Posted by dustmom3 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    Better yet, get EyeTv for your Mac, and then plug your cable tv cable into a device called TVmicro, which then plugs into your USB ports. No installation or tuner card requires. Your Mac will then become a great tv, AND you can record your favorite shows!

  • 76 Posted by indamixx99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    What about downloading them through a bittorrent client? HDTV quality on most shows too!

  • 79 Posted by garycshaw on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    the easiest way is to use USB TV dongle to receive ATSC signal, it provide you free to air TV program with digital quality, most major city should have over 30 free TV program to watch with digital quality.

  • 80 Posted by dmadesign on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    What about WWW.HAUPPAUGE.COM for WinTV?

  • 81 Posted by lelisen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    rankmalls.com also has a lots of choice.

  • 82 Posted by gftl33 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Did you mean to say "connecting your PC to your cable with a tuner card" ? I haven't even covered connecting your TV to your cable with a tuner card or a USB TV tuner. \

  • 83 Posted by soulbounder on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Torrents are easy enough. Heroes up against 24 on Monday nights are easy now. Watch 24 on monday, download Heroes tuesday morning, watch it in the eveninng.

  • 84 Posted by wazmuth on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    I got 2 words for ya: Bit Torrent. Bit torrents require a special application, which are all free. The collection of both shows and movies available is unparalleled. It takes some time to download, just load your que up before you go to bed and usually it will be ready by the time you wake up the next day.

More Posts: First Prev … 3 4 5 6 7 … Next Last

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.