We Know: All About TV Tuner Cards

What are TV Tuner Cards?

TV Tuner Cards allow you to watch broadcast television on your computer. Some TV tuner cards provide the same functionality that you get with recording devices such as a VCR, channel surfing, remote control, and other features.

A TV Tuner Card and its included software are installed in your computer, then the computer card is connected to the television cable. Before purchasing, make sure the card is compatible with your computer's hardware and operating system. For most cards that will be installed on a Windows machine, you'll also need an open PCI expansion slot on your computer's motherboard.

Available Features for TV Tuner Cards

Some TV Tuner Cards offer more features than others. Here are several that are available:

  • Lightweight. This is more important for laptops because it increases the carrying weight. The lightest TV tuner cards are around a pound.
  • The ability to watch analog media: This includes DVD players, camcorders, VCRs, and game consoles like PlayStation and Xbox
  • Preview multiple channels.
  • Automatically scan channels.
  • Pause live broadcasts.
  • Wireless remote.
  • Closed captioning ability.
  • Schedule and record television programs.
  • FM Radio and MPEG functionality.

TV Tuner Cards On the Market

Several manufacturers produce TV Tuner Cards, including:

  1. Instant TV for Notebooks, from ADS Technologies: For laptop computers. Sells for around $90.
  2. ATI Technologies TV Wonder Pro Remote Control PCI, from NTSC (100-703147): Sells for around $90.
  3. TV Tuner Card with Remote Control PCI, from CompUSA: Sells for around $40.
  4. Kworld PCI TV Tuner, from Generic Brand: Sells for around $50.
  5. ADS Instant TV plus FM PCI, from ADS Technologies: Sells for around $60.


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