United States of America
I searched a bit but didn't find any answers, but I am guessing I'll get lit up for asking such a newbie question. If I get a TV tuner card, do I need to have a cable/tv provider to pick up channels? I'm looking for a way to cut the cable cord. I'm paying 80ish dollars a month for my wife to have Bravo. Everything else I get through other means.
Almost Scared to Ask... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Flinger
- Start date
Fear not intrepid new MPer 
We are in general a friendly bunch here, so ask away - we were all noobs once after all.
In the UK we have free DVB-T and DVB-S (known as freeview and freesat here) add an aerial and/or dish, plugin the correct cables and you are free to go.
Not being in the US myself I'll leave the answer to our friends on far shores, if something like this exists over there.
And to say Welcome
We are in general a friendly bunch here, so ask away - we were all noobs once after all.
In the UK we have free DVB-T and DVB-S (known as freeview and freesat here) add an aerial and/or dish, plugin the correct cables and you are free to go.
Not being in the US myself I'll leave the answer to our friends on far shores, if something like this exists over there.
And to say Welcome
Hi Flinger,
I'm in the US and use "over the air" (antenna) to get all my TV. I have not used cable for years. I use Media Portal on my PC(s) with tuner cards as a DVR to watch, schedule, and record shows. In my area I get all the major networks like FOX, ABC, PBS, etc and a number of independent local stations. Since I don't have cable I can't get ESPN, Bravo, HBO, etc.
As a 1st step, maybe you should try getting an antenna setup that works when directly connected to the TV or talk to friends/neighbors to see if they use an antenna for TV. Assuming you can get an antenna setup to watch local stations on a TV you should be able to get a PC, an ATSC tuner card, and Media Portal working.
If you have problems with the antenna setup most cable companies offer a low cost "limited basic" TV option that only has local TV stations. There are QAM tuner cards that support this option. The cable companies don't mention the "limited basic" option since they want to upsell to a higher cost option.
I'm in the US and use "over the air" (antenna) to get all my TV. I have not used cable for years. I use Media Portal on my PC(s) with tuner cards as a DVR to watch, schedule, and record shows. In my area I get all the major networks like FOX, ABC, PBS, etc and a number of independent local stations. Since I don't have cable I can't get ESPN, Bravo, HBO, etc.
As a 1st step, maybe you should try getting an antenna setup that works when directly connected to the TV or talk to friends/neighbors to see if they use an antenna for TV. Assuming you can get an antenna setup to watch local stations on a TV you should be able to get a PC, an ATSC tuner card, and Media Portal working.
If you have problems with the antenna setup most cable companies offer a low cost "limited basic" TV option that only has local TV stations. There are QAM tuner cards that support this option. The cable companies don't mention the "limited basic" option since they want to upsell to a higher cost option.
N
NTARVIN
Guest
A tuner inside your computer would be used with an over-the-air antenna to receive free broadcast tv. See antennaweb.org or tvfool.com to see what channels are available in your area.
Your antenna would then use a cable to connect to the back of your computer (this is a heavy white, black or grey wire with male cable jacks on each end.) TV would then be available to you using Windows Media Center, or various other tv software.
Many of your available digital channels will be in HD, and very good quality. I'm in Tulsa, OK and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CW, Fox, Ion, and MyTV along with a bunch of sub-channels to each of those, and a number of religious and Spanish channels. If all you are using cable for is to view predominantly local channels, this is a great substitute. You'll also get all the sports available on those channels as well.
Your antenna would then use a cable to connect to the back of your computer (this is a heavy white, black or grey wire with male cable jacks on each end.) TV would then be available to you using Windows Media Center, or various other tv software.
Many of your available digital channels will be in HD, and very good quality. I'm in Tulsa, OK and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CW, Fox, Ion, and MyTV along with a bunch of sub-channels to each of those, and a number of religious and Spanish channels. If all you are using cable for is to view predominantly local channels, this is a great substitute. You'll also get all the sports available on those channels as well.