Internet TV - How Does It Work?

By Craig Relph

You can go down a couple of different roads when it comes to watching TV on your PC or laptop. You can look at one of two options either a hardware solution or a software option. If you decide to go the hardware route then you would need to purchase a TV-PC tuner card. This would either come in the form of a USB device that you would simply plug into the outside of your computer, or alternatively it would come in the form of a card that you install in your machine that makes an external socket for your normal TV aerial. By doing this it will allow you to use your computer as a regular TV by receiving signals directly into your PC or laptop. It is also very simple if you have record programs directly to your computer (as long as you have software capable of doing this of course). Of course this method will not let you have access to subscription channels of course, but it will let you access free to air television.

The other option for you is to take the software route, this allows you into the magical world of 'Internet TV' which can be a world of bewilderment and confusion, below is a summary of what it has to offer...

1. Firstly, You can go and try and access the 'free stuff' if you want. There are many news stations and some TV channels that offer live streaming of their channels. There are a number of websites that also link you to these channels.

2. Another option is to make a one off purchase of a software application. Typically the price of this will be from 25 - 125; this will enable you to access normally thousands of national and international satellite TV channels. In virtually all cases this software is normally downloadable online so you can literally be watching in minutes.

Both of these first two options can be hit or miss as far as finding what you really want. And no, you cannot legally get MTV or HBO for free. What you do find is often a grab bag of foreign language and religious programming, and your search will be rife with browser incompatibility problems, applet errors, broken links, and endless buffering. If you do go with the proprietary software solution for a very low price, you can count on getting what you pay for.

3. Another option is p2p (or peer to peer) software. At the time of writing this it is still legal to have the technology, however there have been many court cases. Please be aware that sending others protected television programs is ILLEGAL, which in reality makes it not the best option for you.

It is inevitable that in the future we will not be paying as much for our television, as increased competition from the internet will drive the price downwards. It also will mean that the choice of quality TV that will be free to view will go up. As for the immediate future, it will still remain a challenge to find great quality programs online, but it's certainly not impossible, with a little time spent it can be quite a rewarding experience.

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