How to Save Your Favorite TV Shows on Your Computer

Do you want to save your favorite TV shows on your computer? A TV tuner card that is compatible with your computer allows you to view and save your favorite shows on your PC. Follow these steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• TV tuner card

1. Check your system processor speed. Most TV tuner or personal video recording (PVR) cards require 256 MB of RAM and an 800 MHz or faster processor.

2. Acquire a tuner card that is either internal or external. An internal TV tuner card fits into the PC through the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot. The external tuner card fits into the computer's USB (Universal Serial Bus) port.

3. Connect the antenna or a satellite TV receiver box to the TV tuner card in your PC.

4. Select "Program Guide" from among the different options such as "Watch Live TV," "Create New Recording" and "Recording Schedule." This gives you access to a list of programs along with the channels and the times. Choose your favorite program.

5. Press the "Create New Recording" button to start the recording process.

6. Save the recorded file in the desired location. It will use the format of ".dvr-ms" (Microsoft Digital Video Recording).

7. Watch your favorite program as many times as you want!

Tips & Warnings

• Many brands of TV tuner cards are available. Some of the popular cards include Hauppauge WinTV-PVR USB2 and ATI E-Home Wonder.
• Use the Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) to schedule recordings in advance.