TV tuner cards are the latest hardware option for the media-savvy. With most TV tuners, you can watch over 100 TV channels of high-quality television, rent online movies, and even plug in S-video or composite hardware. Most cards come with remote controls too, and Vista Ultimate and Home Premium come with Media Center, which allows you to surf through TV channels just as if you were sitting in front of an actual television. You can even schedule and record TV programs, and zoom in, pan, or freeze video action.
How to Install
Installing is generally touted as something like this on the manufacturer’s Web page: “Simply install the card and the user-friendly software, connect the TV cable, and sit back and enjoy high-quality video right from your PC.” Now, installing the card is actually pretty easy, I have to give them that. However, there are thousands of Web pages devoted solely to FAQs, technical help, and troubleshooting tips for getting the TV cards working properly, as well as thousands of forum entries from those lost in the process.
In this section, we’ll discuss just how to go about installing and configuring a TV tuner card, the software, and the remote control, and how to avoid the pitfalls that cause most problems along the way. If you’re thinking of installing a TV tuner card, read the manufacturer’s instructions first, and then read this. After that, you’ll be ready for the installation.
There are specific system requirements for all hardware products, and TV tuners are no exception. For the most part though, if you have Windows XP on a new machine, you’ll probably meet those requirements easily. However, you should make sure by reading the information on the box very carefully. If you need to upgrade something, say RAM or the video card, do so before continuing.
Open the case. As with installing any card, make sure you are properly grounded, and then seat the card into the proper PCI slot. Press firmly and secure the card with a screw. Again, by reading the manufacturer’s instructions you can make sure you do this properly. Some may require the card be placed in the last slot, away from the other cards, and some may require just the opposite. Once installed, close the case, and start the PC.
The nest page will lead you through installing the software...