Help. I do all the IT for my friend’s law office on the side and she’s doing some upgrades at the office and is (FINALLY) getting cable internet and a PC at home so she can do research at night. She wants to be able to watch cable TV in her computer. I must admit - I have no clue how this is going to work. :o Since I know some of you do this, what exactly will she need for hardware? Will it run over the wireless internet I will be setting up or does she need to hook a cable up directly to her computer? I need a quick-start guide!!
Off the top of my head: Slingbox.
http://www.slingbox.com/go/slingbox?gclid=CI6r7rjW2J0CFQ7xDAodImV1sA
But if you’re enterprising you can also do it via the open source route with MythTV.
http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox
There is the slingbox from Sling Media. Allows watching TV wireless on your PC.
ETA: Chuck mentioned that already.
A cheaper alternative, I’ve used the WinTV products in the past. Not sure if they have a wireless option. You install the card and connect the cable to it.
For hardware, all that’s needed is a tv tuner. They can be internal (card that plugs into a PCI slot) or external (small box that connects by USB) or wireless. Mine is external, and my cable line (a separate one from the modem) plugs right into it. There are some wireless ones available, but it looks like they’re not very popular yet, so there’s not a whole lot of customer feedback out there. Slingbox seems to be the best-loved of the hardwired. (Mine is a Diamond, and I’ve had NO problems, other than an issue with the software)
Hope that helps a little!
ETA: Guess those two beat me to it!