Watching HD TV on your computer is easier than you might think. There are two ways to go about it. Your first option is either by the use of an adaptor that acts as a TV receiver to decode the signals and display them on your screen. The other method is by viewing TV broadcasts which are streamed over the internet.

The fist way of turning your PC in to a TV requires the purchase of a PC TV tuner. This is a piece of hardware that takes a TV signal and displays it on your TV. They come in the form of a PCI card or a USB adaptor. Both do the same job and are easy to install. If you have a desktop PC then either type of adaptor should be suitable. However if you have a notebook or laptop then USB is the way to go.

Both type of HDTV adaptors come with many different features, not only do they allow you to watch television broadcasts on your PC they have features such as, radio stations, video and audio capture and live pause. Most types come with software which will have to be installed.

Some TV tuner adaptors have inbuilt aerials and/or a connector for an external aerial that comes supplied. For the best result you might want to check if the adaptor has the right type of connectors to connect to your satellite or set-top box if that?s your chosen method of viewing. They normally come with software to tune the adaptor into the TV channels and allow you to perform other functions like recording and pausing TV channels.

They are inexpensive devices and can be purchased for less than $50. They can be purchased from online retailers, with a multitude of choice from manufacturers such as Pinnacle, ATI, WinTV and Diamond. If you specifically want to watch HD TV, then make sure the adaptor you purchase is high definition TV capable.

The next option available to enable viewing television on your computer is via websites that stream TV channels over the web. The choice or providers is wide and there are over 3000 channels available online.

If you already have a desktop or laptop with an internet connection, then the chances are you already have everything you need to get going. The main thing is that that you have a reasonably fast internet connection, 2 mega bits / sec should be ok.

There are numerous providers of TV broadcasts on the internet. Just open your browser and search for ?watch TV online? to see for yourself. You will find some which are free, the quality of the broadcasts is usually poor and the range of channels is limited, they will largely be channels from around the world that you have never heard of. There are TV channel websites that involve fees these have are usually better quality with more familiar channels.

The advantages of watching HDTV online is that firstly you don?t need to buy an expensive HDTV and receiver and it is cheaper than subscribing to a satellite or cable TV company. The other thing is that it is mobile, wherever you have an internet connection you can watch HDTV online.

Dorothy Grant writes about led tvs and hd tv online

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