Can you get cable television on your computer?

Question

I've seen some advertisements for getting tv on your computer with loads and loads of channels. The advertisements seem a little suspicious, like you're not really going to get what you think you are. Is it worth getting? Expensive? Can you get cable channels? I just canceled my cable due to the expense and was hoping to find a cheaper way to watch tv. What few network channels I get now come in fuzzy since all I have for reception is rabbit ears. I thought maybe the computer would possibly offer a solution.

Answer 1

Note that the following is NOT live TV. It, however, provides an alternative and gives you several thousand channels. Simply put, each user send data to each other, thus providing a lag free stream, provided there are actually people.

http://www.tvunetworks.com/

I believe there are more, but this is one alternative.

Oh, and it's free.

Answer 2

Be very suspicious, there is no such thing as free anything. All it is, is a list of 'stations' that you can find yourself by visiting websites like ABC News, etc. To get decent TV for free, you need to get a Yagi-Uda antenna like you see on top of homes. They aren't expensive, but it's a bit of work to put up. If that's out, then you might also contact some local amateur radio groups and ask questions. Most are friendly and would be glad to help.

If that's too much work, companies like Trek make several inexpensive antennas that you can get that will out preform your rabbit ears, but don't expect Yagi quality. Try Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon.com, etc. A Yagi (like you see on top of peoples homes - pronounced yag-eee) is the best, period.

If you don't want to buy anything, try this, put the rabbit ears out as far as they go. Push them down flat. Point it down 90 degrees to where the TV broadcast tower is at. You should get a bit better signal. To find where they are at, check out the FCC's website below. It should give you a map if you search. And you may find stations you don't know about.

I can get stations from 250 miles away on a good day, and at least 150 on a bad with my Yagi. It's the install that's the hard part, but once that's done it's easy.