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You want the luxury to watching your TV programmes as and when you want it. You are eyeing the DVD /hard drive video recorder or Tivo /Replay digital video recorder. But these are costly. Tivo also require monthly subscription fees. For a fraction of the amount you would pay for the above gadgets, you can simply record your TV shows on your PC.
If you are happening to shop for a new PC, then you could opt for one of these media center PCs which are currently hot. Otherwise, you can simply upgrade your current PC with a TV tuner card with recording function. For simpler set up , you can choose a USB box for easy plug and plug and there's no need for do any hardware installation. Another option is to get one of those graphics card with tv tuner capabilities too for better picture and sound quality on your PC screen.
Your TV programmes will then be stored on your hard drive. You can even hook up to your TV or Stereo for play back of your recorded TV programmes. Better still, if your PC comes with a CD writer or DVD rewriteable drive which enables to output your programmes to shiny media.
Your PC needs to fulfill certain conditions before you rush out to get these gadgets. Ideally, you need at least 1 GHz Pentium III processor and plenty of RAM ( at least 256 MB). As video content takes up lots of hard drive space , you will need at least 10 GB for your video files.
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Instant TV Deluxe TigerDirect's Price Drop Alerts!
ADS Instant TV DELUXE PCI Vid=1095eo Capture (PTV-305) Watch and Record TV shows on CD or DVD Record TV shows Direct to CD or DVD Discs Schedule Recordings with Beyond TV program guide Change The Way You Watch TV with Instant TV Deluxe and beyond tv3. How It Works: 1. Install the PCI card in your PC. 2. Connect your TV source to the Instant TV Deluxe and connect the IR Blaster to control your satellite or cable box. 3. Install SnapStream Beyond TV 3.5, Arcsoft QuickDVD, Arcsoft Showbiz and start watching, recording and sharing TV! Features: PCI connection to the PC Capture audio and video via the PCI port with "Audio Lock" technology for perfect lip synch MPEG 2 Hardware encoder Use SnapStream Beyond TV or Arcsoft Showbiz software to capture, edit, and burn in one simple step. Features a 9 bit video digitizer with 2x oversampling and 4 line comb filter FM tuner Applications: Never miss your favorite TV shows with Beyond TV. Schedule shows using the (90 days free) trial version (E)lectronic (P)rogram (G)uide or remotely schedule recordings via the web. Use your cell phone, PDA or laptop to watch live or recorded TV, or remotely schedule it to record your favorite show with included ORB . Burn all your videos or TV shows to disc with Arcsoft QuickDVD Arcsoft Showbiz has everything you need from capturing and editing your home movies to recording live TV and putting them onto discs. Listen and record live FM radio on your PC Windows Media Center Compatible Instant TV Deluxe Includes: PCI device IR Blaster Remote control CD Containing: Instant TV PVR SnapStream Beyond TV 3.5 ORB Networks Arcsoft QuickDVD Arcsoft Showbiz User's manual System Requirements: (For PC) Intel® Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher/AMD Athlon or Duron Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or XP 128MB of RAM 500 MB of available hard drive space for program installation 4 GB+ hard drive space for video capturing and editing CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive for VCD or SVCD disc creation DVD+R or DVD-R drive for DVD disc creation Available PCI slot Sound card Bundled Software: Instant TV PVR™ Instant TV PVR enables you to pause live TV and continue from where you left with the TimeShift function. The "Schedule Recordings" function gives you the power to NEVER miss your favorite programs ever again - even when the software is closed! You can easily convert any video files from avi, mpg, etc with MPEG Converter and then edit your favorite video files with MPEG Editor. Finally, you can burn a DVD/VCD/SVCD with DVD Burn. SnapStream Beyond TV™ 3.5 with SmartSkip™ Beyond TV integrates a program guidethat downloads updates daily. Record new, all or single episodes of your favorite shows. Schedule recordings from any computer, WAP-enabled cell phone or PDA connected to the Internet. Pause live TV, skip ahead 30 seconds, use instant replay and rewind/fast forward at 60x speed. SmartSkip™ creates "chapters" allowing you to skip commercials and other parts of TV shows. ORB Orb TV can offer you live and recorded TV, Internet TV, and access to webcams from virtually any of your Internet-connected devices. Watch your favorite shows, including sporting events, soap operas, and even Internet TV. Stream live or recorded TV - no waiting for long downloads Schedule TV recordings when you are on the go Because Orb Networks software comes with your ADS Tech tuner, you can access all of your digital media from virtually any web connected device. Arcsoft Showbiz Whether you're experienced with DVD movie making or just looking for the perfect complement to your brand new digital camera, this easy-to-use program has everything you need to capture your home movies and create your own DVDs to share with friends or send to customers. Includes tools for editing your video footage, customizing DVD menus, and designing DVD photo slideshows! Arcsoft QuickDVD The easiest way to make your own DVD movies. Forget about all the complicated procedures typically associated with digital video?? if you can use a remote control, you can put your home movies on DVD. It's really that simple. Attention couch potatoes--DVD is in your hands!
ADS Instant TV DELUXE USB Vid=1095eo Capture, USB 2.0 (USBAV-705) Watch and Record TV shows on CD or DVD Record, Rewind and Pause Live TV on your Computer Never miss a program! Use your cell phone, PDA or laptop to watch live or recorded TV, or to remotely program it to record your favorite show with included ORB Networks. Also enjoy remote access to all your photos, videos and music from any capable device Schedule Recordings with Beyond TV program guide Record TV shows Direct to CD or DVD Discs IR Blaster controls cable and satellite receivers Instant TV Deluxe and Orb take the home out of home entertainment. Orb gives you secure access to the digital media on your home PC through a simple web interface. Just install Instant TV Deluxe with Orb software on your PC , then access your media anywhere. Use your cell phone, PDA or laptop to watch live or recorded TV, or to remotely program it to record your favorite show. You can also access all your photos video and music. Change The Way You Watch TV with Instant TV Deluxe How It Works: 1. Connect Instant TV Deluxe to your PC's USB 2.0 port 2. Connect your TV source to the Instant TV Deluxe and connect the IR Blaster to control your satellite or cable box. 3. Install Capture Wizard, Beyond TV, QuickDVD, and Showbiz and start watching, recording and sharing TV! The IR Blaster can transmit IR codes to control channel changing on your cable or satellite receiver so you can record TV shows on your PC. Features: USB 2.0 connection to the PC Capture audio and video via the PCI port with "Audio-Lock" technology for perfect lip synch Supports MPEG 1 Layer 2 Audio Use Arcsoft Showbiz software to capture, edit, and burn in one simple step. Features a 9 bit video digitizer with 2x oversampling and 4 line comb filter Applications: Never miss your favorite TV shows with Beyond TV. Schedule shows using the (90 days free) trial version (E)lectronic (P)rogram (G)uide or remotely schedule recordings via the web. Use your cell phone, PDA or laptop to watch live or recorded TV, or remotely schedule it to record your favorite show with included ORB . Burn all your videos or TV shows to disc with Arcsoft QuickDVD Arcsoft Showbiz has everything you need from capturing and editing your home movies to recording live TV and burning them onto discs. CapWiz: The easiest way to capture from video sources or T V and burn direct-to-disc! Windows Media Center Compatible Instant TV Deluxe Includes: Instant TV Deluxe USB device IR Blaster Remote control CD Containing: Capture Wizard SnapStream Beyond TV 3.5 ORB Networks ArcSoft QuickDVD ArcSoft Showbiz User's manual System Requirements: (For PC) Intel® Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher/AMD Athlon or Duron Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or XP 128MB of RAM 500 MB of available hard drive space for program installation 4 GB+ hard drive space for video capturing and editing CD-ROM CD-R/RW drive for VCD or SVCD disc creation DVD+R or DVD-R drive for DVD disc creation Available USB Port Sound card Bundled Software: Capture Wizard™ In just minutes, you can capture video and TV in this easy-to-use capture and playback software. Use event timer or delayed recording feature to capture what you want, when you want it and record Direct-To-Disc in real time! With Capture Wizard, you can preview your video at up to 720 x 480 full screen, chose your bit rate and use advanced settings to capture video. SnapStream Beyond TV™ 3.5 with SmartSkip™ Beyond TV integrates a program guidethat downloads updates daily. Record new, all or single episodes of your favorite shows. Schedule recordings from any computer, WAP-enabled cell phone or PDA connected to the Internet. Pause live TV, skip ahead 30 seconds, use instant replay and rewind/fast forward at 60x speed. SmartSkip™ creates "chapters" allowing you to skip commercials and other parts of TV shows. ORB Orb TV can offer you live and recorded TV, Internet TV, and access to webcams from virtually any of your Internet-connected devices. Watch your favorite shows, including sporting events, soap operas, and even Internet TV. Stream live or recorded TV - no waiting for long downloads Schedule TV recordings when you are on the go Because Orb Networks software comes with your ADS Tech tuner, you can access all of your digital media from virtually any web connected device. Arcsoft Showbiz Whether you're experienced with DVD movie making or just looking for the perfect complement to your brand new digital camera, this easy-to-use program has everything you need to capture your home movies and create your own DVDs to share with friends or send to customers. Includes tools for editing your video footage, customizing DVD menus, and designing DVD photo slideshows! Arcsoft QuickDVD The easiest way to make your own DVD movies. Forget about all the complicated procedures typically associated with digital video?? if you can use a remote control, you can put your home movies on DVD. It's really that simple. Attention couch potatoes--DVD is in your hands! USB 2.0 speeds with Windows XP using Microsoft 2.0 drivers.
Instant TV +FM PCI frees you from television network programming schedules and allows you to easily record television on your PC so you can watch shows when you want to. Then you can burn to disc and watch episodes of your favorite show over and over again. Why buy DVD collections of TV shows when you can create them yourself! Instant TV +FM PCI installs directly into your computer. It includes Instant TV software for viewing with one click recording. Find your favorite show, and with one click you're set, Instant TV will automatically record the show, even if you aren't home. It's fun and easy! Record, Rewind and Pause Live TV on your computer Schedule recordings with Electronic Program Guid=1095e Installs directly into your computer tower Features 125 Channel Cable Ready Tuner FM Radio Tuner RCA and S-Video inputs to allow capture from analog video sources 3.5mm stereo audio input Support for 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio Watch TV and listen to FM radio on your PC Capture TV and video images as MPEG-1, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 formats Time-shifting to record & playback TV programs at the same time Capture still images in BMP and JPEG file formats Schedule-Record in PC power-off mode (Hibernate support needed) Direct to Disc recording for TV of video sources directly to VCD/SVCD/DVD PIP playback
ADS Instant Vid=1095eo PCI (PTV-390), Easy Video Capture to VCD, Windows Media 9 & DivX Video Features: Easy video capture to VCD, Windows Media 9 & DivX video! Capture direct to DivX video, Windows Media 9 or other video formats Create Video CD's and DivX CD's Make Video CD's of home movies to play on most DVD Players Capture video to play on your Pocket PC, Palm PDA, Portable media player or Digital Media Receiver like the ADS Media-Link Includes Ulead VideoStudio 8 Record over 2 hours of video on a single CD using DivX format, DivX compatible player required for playback Easy Capture Into Future Proof Formats Compress your video into MPEG-1, DivX video or Windows Media 9 Video! Portable Video Capture video that can play on DivX Certified DVD players, Palm and Pocket PC** PDA's, portable video players and Digital Media receivers. Now you can capture video in a single format that will play on all of your devices. One-Step Video Editing The Multi-Trim feature in Ulead VideoStudio quickly trims out the parts of the movie you don't want. It's the fast and simple way to do all of your cuts in one simple step. Auto-Editing with Movie Wizard Want to create a fun and exciting video but don't feel creative? Use the Movie Wizard to do the editing for you. Insert the video clips and background music, set the style theme (Vacation, Sports, Romance, etc.) and let Movie Wizard create the edited movie for you, complete with music, transitions and backgrounds. **compatible software video player required for playback on your portable device. Specifications: Video in: RCA (composite) and S-Video (Y/C) Audio in: RCA Stereo (Left and Right) Video format: NTSC, PAL and SECAM Video: High quality 9 bit video digitizer with dynamically adaptive 4 line comb filter Video Capture Formats: 640 x 480 @ 15-20 fps VCD MPEG-1 352 x 288 @30 fps (PAL) VCD MPEG 1 352 x 240 NTSC 720 x 480 @ 30 fps for AVI capture 720 x 576 (PAL) @ 24 fps for AVI capture Instant Video PCI Package Includes: Instant Video PCI Card AV cable Ulead VideoStudio 8 SE Basic User Guide Installation CD System Requirements: One available PCI Slot Windows ME, 2000, and XP (Home or Professional) Intel Pentium III 800 GHz processor or higher 256 MB of RAM Sound Card - for audio playback CD-ROM - for software installation CD burner - for creating VCD's or burning video files to CD
Adaptec Dual TV Tuner for Windows XP MCE 2005 Record two programs simultaneously, while watching a pre-recorded show / Attaches to PC / Optimized for Windows Media Center Edition Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Pinnacle Systems PCTV Tuner Card Start watching TV on your PC right now! Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Miglia Tech AlchemyTV DVR w/ Remote (Mac) TV tuner card for Apple G4 & G5 desktops that allows you to watch live TV, program shows to be recorded to your hard drive & more Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Digital Data Dist. HDTV100 XtremeTV HDTV USB TV TUNER Dual tuner system (ATSC+ Analog) TV Receiver / Record and play DVD-quality TV program on PC (720x480-NTSC) / Supports EPG (Electronic Program Guide) Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Ads Tech InstantTV+FM PCI Card Watch TV or listen to FM radio on your PC! / Requires open PCI slot Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Hauppauge 1178 WinTV-HVR-1600 Digital / Analog TV Tuner PCI Card with Remote Watch and record TV in a window or full screen using high quality MPEG-2 / NTSC and ATSC Tuners / VISTA Ready Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150MCE Media Recorder for PC Add TV and FM radio to your Windows XP Media Center Edition computer! Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Avermedia AVerTV Box7 TV Tuner Box 4:3 / Supports Resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 / Includes Remote Control / Up to 480p Progressive Scan output / For PC with Monitor Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Avermedia UltraTV 1500 MCE Multimedia Center for your PC Turn your PC into a TV, FM Radio, Personal Video Recorder (PVR), and FM Radio Capture Device Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Pinnacle Systems PCTV Pro - USB ( Windows ) Enjoy portable TV and media files on your PC or portable media device! Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Hauppauge WinTV-USB2 Digital TV Recorder for PC Watch and Record TV on your PC, in a window or full screen -- even pause TV with instant replay, too! / External USB Connectivity Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
A PCMCIA TV tuner card that gives your notebook the capability to view and record live television / Pause, Rewind & Instant Replay / Time Shift Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
A micro-sized external TV tuner for your Mac / Includes remote control / EyeTV 2 Software TV Guide / Up to DVD Quality / USB 2.0 Port Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
PCI TV Card with a 125 channel cable-ready TV tuner and a high quality video digitizer Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
Hauppauge Win TV PVR 350 PCI Expansion Card for PC TV and FM radio for your PC! Built-in Personal Video Recorder with video out! / Record your TV shows or videos to disc Shop the J&R Clearance Center and Save up to 20-80% our already low prices.
WinTV Tuner and Video Capture Card WINTV DBX & FM RADIO Watch TV in a window, on your PC monitor or video conference over the Internet. This PCI card also enables you to display video from a DVD player, VCR or camcorder. And you can capture 24-bit still images. This item is currently available online only.
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