What Can You Tell Me About Digital, Analog, & PVR TV Tuners?

PVR TV tuners allow you to record television.

A TV tuner is a device inside the TV that allows it to receive signals. While analog tuners are obsolete in new TVs, digital and personal video recorders (PVRs) are widely used in 2011.

Analog to Digital

While analog television signals were once commonplace, they were phased out in 2009 and completely replaced by digital television. If you are still using an analog TV to pick up the basic channels, you need to either get a digital converter box or purchase a new TV with a digital tuner inside.

PVR

Personal video recorders allow users to record, rewind, fast forward and pause live TV. While VCR's could record television on an analog video tape, PVRs essentially do the same thing, only they save the digital data to a hard drive instead of a tape. PVRs are also commonly called digital video recorders (DVRs), with services like TiVo, Moxi HD and ReplayTV being examples of this technology.

USB TV Tuners and Cards

USB TV tuners and TV tuner cards allow you to use your computer as a TV. While the first simply plugs into a USB port, PC TV tuners also come in PCI cards, which need to be installed internally. While both function similarly, USB generally costs more due to the convenience it presents.

References

• DTV: What You Need to Know About the Digital TV Transition
• DTV: Frequently Asked Questions
• Webopedia: PVR
• PC World: TV Tuners for Your PC