Imagine that you’re sitting in front of your desk, hard at work on a deadline that’s due the next day. It’s the NBA finals; and there is no TV in sight for you to at least catch a glimpse of the game. Being the NBA fanatic that you are, you start cursing the Gods for your rotten luck, and then your boss for being such a slave driver. How you wish that you could just watch the game right at that moment on your computer. Impossible? Guess again!
Computing technology has advanced by leaps and bounds this past couple of years, so much so that, it is now possible to watch Live TV on your PC. With the right software, hardware and an active broadband Internet connection, you can turn that desktop workhorse into a decent Audio/Video entertainment system. Just don’t let your boss catch you; otherwise he might switch the channel to watch Gray’s Anatomy!
What you need?
First of, your PC has to have a fairly decent video card and a good amount of memory available.
Ideally you need at least 512 MB of memory to prevent ‘lags’ in the transmission of the video. Basically, the more memory you have to spare, the more ‘wiggle room’ can be allotted to the TV software application, which it uses to ‘buffer’ the video.
Buffering simply means that the TV show to be viewed is kept in a temporary storage or ‘buffer’ area in the memory first, until it hits a preset threshold. Once it does, this is the time the video is made available for viewing. And while you’re viewing the first buffered portion of the show, the next segment is also being buffered simultaneously in the background and will then be attached to the first segment as soon as it ends. This is a continuous process that allows you to watch the program continuously with no ‘hangs’ or pauses.
If possible, get a video card with built-in memory, so that you get a better resolution on your monitor and prevent ‘grainy’ images. Although this may not be a pre-requisite, it will greatly help your viewing experience.
Next, assuming you already have an Internet connection with your local Internet Service Provider, you now need to download or install the TV software to allow you to watch Live TV over the Internet. Some ISP’s even offer the software bundled into the package once you subscribe to their service. Some TV viewing software are also available for download free of charge, although in most cases the software is just a trial version and will only allow you to use it for a certain number of days. Once this has lapsed, you will need to purchase the full version. The good thing about this though, is that it allows you to ‘test drive’ the software first and check its functionality and available features before the actual purchase are made.
Some of the notable advantages of setting up your PC to watch Live TV aside from being very affordable are, it requires very little technical expertise in setting it up, it is available to anyone in the world with an internet connection, and it’s most distinct advantage is the insanely huge amount of available channels and programs to choose from!! Not only can you watch your favorite local shows, you can also watch various programs from other countries such as France and the UK, to name a few.
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