television on laptop? nah! or ???

[choperbob]

is it really possible to recieve television on a laptop? I have a toshiba satellite laptop. what all is involved in getting tv shows on it? i use a sprint card for unlimited internet access. it sounds like it is just a dream, is it really possible?

[Malaki86]

There's companies that make tv tuners you can plug into the laptop - hauppauge is one (I have one of their tuners). It picks up the same channels off of the antenna that a standalone tv would.

[Sheepdancer]

Look into getting whats called a "slingbox". This is probably the coolest technology thats come out in awhile. If you have cable tv or satellite, this is how it works. You connect the slingbox to your cable or satellite box. The slingbox beams the signal from your box to your computer desktop at home and sends the signal from your cable out to the internet. Then anywhere you have internet access on your laptop, you can watch cable....the cool thing is that you can even change the channels on your home cable box from your laptop.

[glasman2]

...the cool thing is that you can even change the channels on your home cable box from your laptop.

I could see it now.... wife watching the cooking channel at home , and I change it to sci-fi channel on the road... click...click....click....click....
Ring... ring.... ( wife ) " stop messing with the damn channels!!!!!

[devildice]

Look into getting whats called a "slingbox". This is probably the coolest technology thats come out in awhile. If you have cable tv or satellite, this is how it works. You connect the slingbox to your cable or satellite box. The slingbox beams the signal from your box to your computer desktop at home and sends the signal from your cable out to the internet. Then anywhere you have internet access on your laptop, you can watch cable....the cool thing is that you can even change the channels on your home cable box from your laptop.

That almost sounds too good to be true.....there has to be some sort of a catch, what is it?

And if you're accessing it via the internet, would that be considered "streaming video"?

[west_coaster]

Found this the other day, streaming video, all kinds of shows and movies and stuff. Not sure how fast your connection has to be, but it seems to work on mine. Later.

www.peekvid.com

(I know, it totally sounds like porn, but it's not.)

West_Coaster

[Sheepdancer]

It works great....of course it depends on your internet connection. the better the connection the better the picture. With a good internet connection on my laptop it pretty much looks just like the picture on the Tv. On my cell phone its a little jumpy but still good enough to watch and enjoy.

You can google "slingbox" and see all sorts of great reviews on this product.......no im not a slingbox salesman ...just so this wont look like spam.

[devildice]

It works great....of course it depends on your internet connection. the better the connection the better the picture. With a good internet connection on my laptop it pretty much looks just like the picture on the Tv. On my cell phone its a little jumpy but still good enough to watch and enjoy.

You can google "slingbox" and see all sorts of great reviews on this product.......no im not a slingbox salesman ...just so this wont look like spam.

i have looked at the site, but my question is still...........is this considered streaming video?

I ask because I use a Verizon air card with unlimited access but I was "warned" by the salesman not to exceed 4mb of streaming video or Verizon will shut me down.

[Sheepdancer]

Yes, its streaming and yes Ive read that verison has cut off people who were on unlmited media because they were using slingbox. Sounds like a good reason to get rid of Verison

[marylandkw]

I use slingbox on my sprint aircard and I love it. Been using it for awhile now and never so much as a peep from sprint about it.

I just have basic cable at home(no tuner box, just plug into the tv) so I just hook up the slingbox like an extra tv. If you have or want to use digital cable or satalite tv you have to dedicate a tuner box to the slingbox or watch whatever channel whomever is at the house is watching.

[sam william]

you can watch air TV the free channel which is in your area where ever you are in USA like PPS and any AIR TV very clear like you see it at home all you need a sling box and short aneta for receiving
this way you keep with the local stuff like local weather local news if there is any emergency and road closer and so on its more use full for trucker than a steaming video

[Roadhog]

Yeah...but.... :?
There's just very little on TV anymore worth watching...let alone spending money on it to watch.

Thing I would keep in mind....the cost of your Computer vs. the TV ...if something were to go wrong.
My TV is a CD/DVD player as well...and I pick up plenty of channels OTR. Cost me like 200 bucks. If I don't get good TV reception...I'll play a DVD. I bring my DVD guitar lessons with me...and actually like it when I DON"T get any TV channels...because then I am more inclined to practice a song.

[Karnajj]

Look into getting whats called a "slingbox". This is probably the coolest technology thats come out in awhile. If you have cable tv or satellite, this is how it works. You connect the slingbox to your cable or satellite box. The slingbox beams the signal from your box to your computer desktop at home and sends the signal from your cable out to the internet. Then anywhere you have internet access on your laptop, you can watch cable....the cool thing is that you can even change the channels on your home cable box from your laptop.

The resolution is quite poor using this device, barely worth watching.

[Sheepdancer]

The resolution is quite poor using this device, barely worth watching.

Once again it depends on a lot of factors. especially your internet connection. Not too long ago we had to work during the Arkansas/LSU football game. I had the game slinboxed into my laptop so we could watch at work. People asked me how I got high def tv on my laptop at work. Now, these people probably have never seen true high definition television. But that would tell you that if they asked that, I was getting damn good resolution. With a good wifi connection, I find the picture very good. Very easy to watch. With my cell phone its a little more jumpy. However my buddy has a cingular cell with that new 3g broadband, and the streaming slingbox shows on that are near perfect.

[choperbob]

peekvid is cool but i had to keep alert to asvance to next part, saved the shortcut, tho, thanx, now , where do i find a slingbox? radio shack? walmart? does it matter if home computer is old and weak? need info.

[op6666]

marylandkw..

What speed do you have with sprint ??? I use Cingular with a edge technology
card. the speed is not that great. would it be worth it ???