How to Watch Television on Your Mac Computer
With a Mac computer, you can watch some TV shows on the Internet. The content is provided under many payment models, including free, by subscription or through services that sell or rent copies of a specific show. If you want to watch TV broadcasts on your Mac as they air, you need a tuner. A TV tuner stick plugs into a USB 2.0 port on the computer. It allows you to connect to an antenna or your cable TV service and watch TV on your Mac. Software included with TV sticks also lets you record programs on the computer’s hard drive to view later.
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Instructions
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Plug a TV stick from Elgato into a USB 2.0 port on your Mac, then connect it to an antenna or cable service to watch TV. Elgato’s TV tuners for Macs and PCs include the EyeTV Hybrid. The TV tuner stick requires a Mac with an Intel processor and OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard) or later. As of 2010, it comes with EyeTV 3 software. EyeTV 3 allows you to watch, pause, rewind and record TV on a Mac.
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Insert a TV stick from Hauppauge Computer into a USB 2.0 port on the Mac and connect to an antenna or cable service to watch TV. Hauppauge Computer Works produces the WinTV-HVR-950 hybrid TV stick for Macs and PCs. The TV stick’s system requirements for Macs include an Intel or G5 processor and OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or later. It includes Elgato’s EyeTV Lite software for watching, recording and pausing TV on a Mac.
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Plug a TV stick from Equinux into a USB 2.0 port on your Mac and connect it to an antenna or cable service to watch TV. Equinux produces the Tubestick hybrid. It recommends a Mac with an Intel processor, OS X 10.4.10 (Tiger) or higher, at least a gigabyte of RAM and 2GB of storage space, but says the minimum is a Mac with a G5 processor. The stick comes with The Tube software for watching, pausing, rewinding and recording TV.
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Tips & Warnings
Check software, cables and other items included in the purchase when comparing sticks and shop around for deals and special offers. Less expensive models are available if you will use the tuner stick only with an antenna, not cable, but reception varies by area.
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