After a tiring day at work, you might be in the mood for some late-night television or want to enjoy the cricket match being aired on your TV. But what do you do when your TV is in your parent’s room? Console yourself by watching the match highlights the next day? Or you can turn your laptop or PC into a TV with the help of a TV tuner? These gadgets are perfect for small spaces as they don’t require a lot of wires and can be connected to your system via USB ports or PCI. Just install the software and setup the antenna, and voila! You can watch your favourite cricket team live in action on your computer.
Still wondering if you should buy a TV tuner?
TV tuners with their wide range of functions, not only let you turn your PC into a TV but also help you play and pause live programmes. This feature is especially handy when you have some important work to finish and also do not want to miss your favourite show. You can schedule and record programmes and store them on your PC hard drive and watch them later at your leisure.
What exactly are TV tuners?
If you are still wondering how these electronic gadgets work or what they are, then the next few lines might help you understand them better. TV tuners are devices that allow your laptop or computer to receive television signals and record your favourite TV shows onto your hard drives. You can find these gadgets in either PCI express bus form or as PCI bus expansion cards. Nowadays, you also get tuners in USB stick design. Most of these electronic gadgets also come with on-board processors with an analog front end interface.
Types of Television tuners
Television tuners can be divided into two groups – the internal and the external types. The internal TV tuners are available in the form of cards that fit into the PCI slots on the motherboard. They are great if you have space constraints in your room. They might not be portable like their external counterparts, yet they manage to provide better image quality than external tuners. The external ones, on the other hand, are box-shaped and feature USB connectivity. Unlike the internal ones, these are portable and can be easily carried along to watch TV anywhere. They can be of great use if you are planning to go on a trip and need to see how your team is performing or are planning to have a sleepover at your friend’s house.
Wondering where to buy one?
Online shopping sites have an extensive collection of both external and internal TV tuners from various reputed brands such as AverMedia, iBall, Zebronics, AsiaPower, Intex and Astrum. You can browse to your heart’s content, compare the prices of various products and avail discounts on branded tuners. These sites also offer you authentic reviews from certified buyers to help you make an informed decision before buying a product. The return and replacement policies of these online sites are hassle-free and so are the payment methods.
