Webflock.info – Internet TV Software and Systems

This is a short “review” video intended for my Ruel’s PC-TV Pages which I really need to update to reflect how I watch “TV” and video nowadays as well as provide an example of how to watch “TV” (or rather different forms of “TV”) on a computer. In the “old” days which is really not too long ago, I was happily recording multiple TV shows using four TV Tuner cards on a desktop tower Pentium IV PC. That PC has been (and still is) my workhorse PVR system for watching TV, recording TV and making personal DVDs. For instance, I was happily recording American Idol, 24, plus whatever was a favorite TV show for the current season, then editing out the commercials, and burning multiple episodes to DVDs for my personal off-line use. Nowadays, I use a Macbook and a backup HP windows laptop where any “TV” and video watching is via Hulu (for cable TV shows and broadcast TV shows that I may have missed) and YouTube (for asian pop performances from asian TV music shows) plus using a TV USB Stick (a WinTV-HVR-950Q) for watching first-run broadcast TV shows, the local TV news, plus reruns of a few of my favorite syndicated TV shows. I also have the open-source Boxee software installed on the macbook, but I haven’t been using Boxee that much lately. Software like the Hulu Desktop and Boxee are frontend software for watching TV via online sources. Similar software includes Windows Media Center (which can also use a TV Tuner card or a TV USB Stick) where you get Windows Media Center for free with Windows Vista and the Frontrow software that you get with Mac OS X.

People ask me which TV Tuner card to get for their PCs and ask what they should do after they cut off their cable TV to instead get their “TV” via the internet. Easiest way to set up a PC as a “TV” receiver box is to get a modern PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7, get a TV USB Stick like the WinTV-HVR-950Q, and use Windows Media Center. But note you may not get everything via the internet that you would get on the hundreds of channels on cable TV and satellite TV. Such as don’t expect everything via the internet that you would get in terms of live TV sports. Other options for the PC include SageTV and BeyondTV for tv-friendly frontend software where both SageTV and BeyondTV can also use a TV Tuner card or a TV USB Stick. These are typically called HTPC systems (Home Theater PC) or PC-TV systems where the frontend interface mimics a TiVo-like DVR system but is a full-featured media environment for not only storing TV video but also movies, music, DVDs, CDs, and other entertainment media, for a TV-friendly lean-back remote-control environment.

For mac users, your options include using Frontrow on your existing mac, or getting an Apple TV box, and buying all your TV shows and movies through iTunes, but those options don’t receive broadcast TV or cable TV with a TV USB Stick. That’s where you will have to use the EyeTV software with a TV USB Stick. I would say use your mac (or get one of those nice new iMacs where the computer is built into the monitor) as your interactive “TV” using EyeTV with a TV USB Stick for local TV broadcasts, using Hulu Desktop for many of the popular cable TV shows, and Frontrow or iTunes for other media.

For the LINUX fanboys out there, you know that I haven’t even touched what is available in LINUX land for HTPC systems. Be glad and happy that you can tweak your HTPC to your linux heart’s delight.

Nowadays, I’m going with the “TV on the Desktop” situation which really means having more of a lean-to or a lean-forward computer-interactive experience by simply having a TV window that is always-on-top of the computer desktop hovering off to the side or in a corner of the screen over any browser or other computer activity that I may have on the computer. Just like what you see in the video here where I may be surfing webpages, watching a youtube video, and also have the local TV news in a TV window on the screen all at the same time. This is like how I was watching TV-on-a-PC years ago with a simple TV window in the corner of the screen and this was long before I got into recording TV on a PC. This is more of an active lean-to computer-centric activity instead of a passive lean-back TV-centric activity. This is the situation that Microsoft is reported to be moving towards and I would predict that a future version (or a forked version) of Windows Media Center would be less like a TV frontend and probably have the TV function (using a TV USB Stick or a TV Tuner card) integrated more into Windows Media Player.

Happy TV & Video Watching!
ruel

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Duration : 0:4:5

(more…)

Technorati Tags: EyeTV, HTPC, Hulu, pc tv, WinTV-HVR-950, WinTV-HVR-950Q, YouTube