How to choose a TV tuner for a computer?

A TV tuner is a special device that allows you to receive a television signal (analog or digital) and play it on the monitor of the user's computer. Almost all modern TV tuners are also equipped with FM radio receivers.

To select a TV tuner, you need to familiarize yourself with thethe main characteristics of these devices. First of all, TV tuners differ according to the standards of the received television signal. So, in conditions of the domestic reality TV broadcasting is conducted according to several standards:

• ether and cable analogue broadcasting - SECAM(the Soviet standard), PAL (European standard);


• on-air digital television broadcasting - DVB-T (European standard);


• cable digital broadcasting - DVB-C (European standard);


• satellite digital TV broadcasting - DVB-S (European standard).

Therefore, to select a TV tuner for your computer, it is necessary to determine which signal -analog or digital - will receive this TV tuner. There are models of tuners that support only one type of signal, and there are also hybrid models that support both types of signal.

By way of connecting to a computer TV tuners are divided into internal and external. Internal TV tuners are installed in one of the motherboard connectors.card: PCI or PCI-E. The PCI-E connector may not be on older motherboards, so for older computers, TV tuners with a PCI connection will work.

External TV tuners are most often connected to a computer via a USB interfaceThere are also models connected viaPCMCIA interface. Such models are convenient for laptops, in which there is usually no place to install an additional internal board. External TV tuners are more expensive than internal ones, however their main characteristics are practically the same.

There is a separate group of external TV tuners connected directly to the monitor. To choose TV tuners of this group is convenient forwatching television programs without turning on the computer itself. So you can turn a normal monitor into a TV. The TV tuners connected to the monitor do not have such wide possibilities as TV tuners connected directly to the computer.

TV tuners use PC resources during operation, therefore the compatibility of this device with the operating system installed on the computer is important. Most TV tuners are compatible with Windows OS and only a small part supports operating systems Mac OS or Linux.

To select a TV tuner, you should also pay attention to some additional parameters. Often besides watching TV programs oncomputer, the user also needs to record television or to make "screen shots" (screenshots). Depending on the need for certain additional functions, you can select a TV tuner with the appropriate set of features.

Remote control, which are often completed with modernTV tuners, allows you to turn your computer into a full-fledged TV. And with the help of special software TV tuner can be turned into a remote control computer: play discs, run applications, etc.