TV tuner - Is it worth having?

Hi there
Wth services like Netflix, Sky Go desktop, BBC Iplayer, other services (UK ITV, channel 4, Channel 5 etc,) to say nothing of zillions of stations from Germany (unencrypted --although you probably need to speak German) and other countries I doubt whether having a TV tuner card is worth while anymore.

Almost all the decent monitors I've seen these days have Digital Terrestrial receivers ("Freeview" in the UK) so just switch the monitor to TV.

If you want to watch TV "in a Window" then assuming your internet is fast enough (these days it should be) then just use one of the many Internet TV streaming services such as Sky Go etc).

On slow "Capped" internet services then maybe a TV tuner card can be worthwhile-- but I'd imagine for most people it's not worth bothering any more with this type of hardware.

Cheers
jimbo

You make a valid point Jimbo, but I'm on a slow internet service, which means that streaming is out of the question for me.

To tell you the truth, my TV tuner card is invaluable. I have a decent graphics card with a good sound system so the TV on my computer gets a fair amount of use.

If I try to use BBC iPlayer or Sky Go, they freeze constantly. There is talk of us getting a fibre-optic service, but I think hell will freeze over first.

We have fibre optic in our area but i dont agree with paying such a high price for a service that i will only watch a hand full of channels from, which i record at my parents and watch when i go for dinner on sundays.

The only major advantage i can see is the ability to record, where if i wanted to do that currently id have to buy another recordable box at a much higher price than a TV tuner and software.

I may be late in responding...Yes a good TV tuner is a great way to watch TV. You can watch HDTV recordings(using a HDMI output video card) on your schedule and limited to the number of recordings you can save by your HDD size. As I am "older" I watch many of older TV shows and recording "my" shows is great. Skip though the ads, I can not afford cable and do not want a long contract with satellite. there is just too much local terrestrial TV. I find myself deleting programs I have not had time to watch. Just enjoy!...just wish netflix worked within wmc...way too much TV