Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Watch Satellite TV on PC In Minutes!

Watch satellite TV on PC in minutes? That sounds great. Technology is so advanced these days that it is possible to watch satellite TV online with your computer. You no longer need to rely on a TV or satellite dish system at all to watch satellite TV. Either you plug a PCTV card into your computer or install PC satellite TV software, both ways work well to let you watch satellite TV on PC.

There are a few simple benefits to switch to watch satellite TV on PC or online.

1. Watch Hundreds of Satellite TV Channels

You get to watch dozens of TV channels from stations all over the world. Well, you may not have the time to watch every program but still, the huge number of available satellite TV channels offers you many choices. Pick whichever TV channel you like.

2. Convenience to Watch Satellite TV on PC

Most people own a computer. Many are tech-savvy especially the young ones. Since you are surfing the net, why not make your PC double up as a TV as well? You can save the money on buying your kiddo a new TV for his or her room that way.

3. Get Satellite TV for Free

You can get satellite TV for free when you watch satellite TV on PC. Because your computer is receiving Free To Air TV broadcasts, it does not cost you a single cent to watch satellite TV online. Hope you are not so used to paying your monthly bills to the satellite TV vendors that you can ignore this freebie.

4. Satellite TV has Gone Digital

Digital satellite TV used to be a rarity. But now, the conversion is taking place quickly. As more stations switch to digital, the quality of your satellite TV programs would improve. One good thing about digital is that the bandwidth can condense more programs, meaning there would be more repeat broadcasts at different timings. You can watch your favorite TV show and never worry about missing an episode.

5. Fuss-free Installation

Setting up your computer into a PC satellite TV is not difficult. This is especially so if you are using PC satellite TV software to watch satellite TV on PC. If you have installed any CD driver or application, you would understand that installation takes only a few easy points and clicks.

PC satellite TV software generally costs less than $60 while PCTV cards at the stores can fall within the range of $100 to $300. One thing people complain when they watch satellite TV on PC is the size of the monitor screen. This is no fault of PC satellite TV but it can affect the viewing experience. You can always switch to a larger LCD monitor screen but it can cost you quite a fair bit. Another cheap method is to plug a video card with S-Video output that can be connected to your TV for viewing.

Download PC satellite TV software from my TV blog to watch satellite TV on PC today.

Davion is a successful webmaster, author and fan of TV shows. Find out how you can watch satellite TV on PC instantly and tune into hundreds of LIVE world channels of news, movies, music and kids program at http://Watch-Satellite-TV-On-PC.blogspot.com.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, November 23, 2007

Watching Satellite TV on PC Is Easier Than You Think

Plug your satellite TV receiver into your PC

Did you know that watching satellite TV on your PC could be as simple as plugging a lead from a satellite receiver into a socket on your PC? Yes it's as simple as that.

If you've bought a PC or even a notebook PC in the last few years the chances are that it's already satellite TV ready. You may not even have noticed the strange rectangular sockets on your computer that are your incredibly useful Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. USB is what makes your PC satellite TV ready.

USB isn't just for Satellite TV

USB wasn't developed just for watching satellite television, it's an incredibly versatile interface capable of connecting to all kind of computer peripherals like monitors, audio speakers, cameras, keyboards, mice and a thousand other things, many of which haven't been invented yet.

There are two versions of USB in service at the time of writing. The oldest and slowest standard is version 1.0 (and 1.1) but it's version 2 that is the real performer. It's 40 times faster than version 1 and powerful enough to handle even high definition TV (HDTV). Some plug-in satellite receivers will work with USB 1 but you should try to use version 2 wherever you can. The vast majority of PC's manufactured in the last few years support USB 2.

What do you need to watch satellite TV for PC?

You need a computer with modest specification by today's standards, to take advantage of satellite TV on your PC. If you are interested in HDTV then your computer will need to be slightly more powerful. The following minimum specification should serve you well in all cases:

  • Microsoft? Windows? XP
  • Microsoft? Windows? Media Player 9.0 or later
  • Microsoft? DirectX9.0C or later
  • VGA card with at least 32MB memory
  • P4 2G MHZ CPU or above
  • 256MB RAM or above
  • One free USB 2.0 port
  • Sound card or on board sound chip

You will also need a satellite dish and LNB and a USB satellite TV receiver with DVB-S (Digital Video Broadcast for Satellite). You should get the dish and LNB installed by a professional.

How to connect the satellite receiver to your PC

When your satellite dish and LNB have been installed you can connect the cable from the dish to your USB satellite TV receiver. Then you should install the software that came with your satellite receiver onto your computer. When you have done that you can connect your satellite TV receiver to your PC using the USB cable that should come with your USB enabled receiver. You can plug the cable into any USB socket on your PC but try to make sure that it's a USB 2 socket. Some PC's have a mixture of USB 1 and 2 sockets so it's worth making sure.

Now start the software and start enjoying satellite TV on PC.

There is more information on watching satellite TV for PC in the article Watch Satellite TV on PC using USB

Steve is an engineer who has been interested in digital video for many years. For more information on sattelite TV please visit Use Your PC To Watch Digital TV at http://www.sattelite-television.thegrandfatherclock.com

Labels: , , , , , , , ,