What Kind of Software Do You Need to Watch Live TV on a Laptop?
There are many websites that claim to broadcast live TV, but the ideal solution involves a tuner card and supported software. Media Center applications provide the software necessary to view television on a laptop. It also allows recording, pausing and forwarding, similar to a Digital Video Recorder (DVR.)
Other People Are Reading
-
Windows Media Center
-
Windows Media Center comes preinstalled with Vista and Windows 7. It is found in the Start menu under "All Programs" and can also be launched by pressing the green Start button on a Media Center remote. Live TV is accessed through the "TV" menu on the main screen, or by selecting the guide and then a channel. Click "Search" to search the current listings for a specific program, and click the red "Record" button to save the broadcast to the hard drive.
MediaPortal
-
MediaPortal is one alternative to Windows Media Center that has a customizable interface. Since it is open source, a large collection of plugins are available. Plugins add icons to the Home window that provide new options such as, movie showtimes, maps and games. The program supports most ATSC cards and all analog cards with on board hardware encoding. Check the MediaPortal Wiki for a full list of supported tuners.
-
MythTV
-
MythTV is more flexible than the other Media Center solutions as it allows the tweaking of advanced options. While the other programs are Windows only, MythTV can be run on Linux or a dedicated Mac OS X system. It includes browsing, telephony, gaming and DVD ripping features built-in. It offers commercial detection so they can be skipped in pre-recorded programs, and parental controls to filter the shows your children watch.
WMC Setup
-
Install your tuner and the drivers that came with it from the installation CD. Launch Windows Media Center from the Start Menu and click "Continue." Click "Express" and the required steps complete without any additional input. Choose "Custom" to configure additional options like the speakers and display. If the tuner is detected, you'll see "Configure Tuners, TV Signal and Guide" in the Optional Setup menu. The wizard guides you through the steps. Position your antennae prior to starting the wizard as it will need to scan for signals.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages, Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
