For decades, cable television was the best way to get quality shows geared toward specialized audiences. Today, that's what streaming services do, while cable is more like a lumbering dinosaur, slowly laying waste to both consumers' wallets and their sense of good taste.
This document pertains to HP or Compaq PCs with Windows Vista and an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connector for connecting a monitor or TV.
You can connect a monitor or television to your computer as the primary display (monitor) or as the secondary display. This document describes how to connect a television to your Windows Vista computer using an HDMI connection on an NVIDIA GeForce or ATI Radeon graphics card in the computer, and how to use the card software to adjust settings.
The graphics card in your computer may have more than one connector. Most graphics cards support connecting one or two displays at a time.
Figure : HDMI connector on an example graphics card
When you use HDMI to connect your display, you need to adjust some settings through Windows Vista to hear sound through the display (as described in Selecting HDMI as the default audio device in Windows Vista). Because of this, HP recommends that you connect analog speakers to the computer Audio Line Out connector if you want to hear sound during the initial setup of the computer.
Cable TV still has some great shows, but you no longer need to pay through the nose to get them â not when you can cut the cord. Many services include means to substitute cable TV, including the forthcoming Apple TV Channels service.
Here's what you'll need to know about life after cable TV. Tom's Guide will tell you what kind of hardware you'll need, where you can find your favorite shows and roughly how much you should expect to spend.
Quick Tips
If you're currently on the phone canceling your cable subscription, or in the store to pick up cord-cutting gear, here are the bare-bones necessities you need to consider. The rest of the article goes into more detail about each point:
Hardware
Once you ship your cable box back to its Machiavellian overlords, you'll need a way to funnel streaming content directly to your TV. The good news is that this process is both easy and inexpensive, and you may even own the necessary components already.
HD Antenna
The first thing you may want to consider is an HD antenna. This doesn't provide a way to watch streaming videos, but if you want to watch live TV, it's the cheapest and simplest solution. You may remember having rabbit ears on your hand-me-down TV as a kid â an HD antenna is basically the modern-day version of that. You hook the device into your TV, put it somewhere near a window and watch as the free channels roll in.
This process is how you get local broadcast stations and, as such, is ideal for news and sports. You can get a good HD antenna for less than $40, and like with a regular antenna, there are no subscription fees. However, your channel selection depends a lot on where you live, as well as your line of sight to the broadcast location.
MORE: How to Get Better Reception With Your TV Antenna
A nonamplified antenna picks up signals across a range of about 20 miles and is ideal for people in urban areas, who tend to live close to broadcast towers. Tom's Guide routinely tests HD antennas, and we post the results on our Best Antennas page.
Streaming Devices
If you want to take advantage of streaming services â Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and so forth â you'll need a way to display them on your TV. If you have a recent TV from a major manufacturer, you may not need to get anything at all. Smart TVs usually have these apps built in, and almost every high-end TV sold within the last two years or so has smart capabilities.
If not, setting up your TV for streaming can still be a simple and inexpensive process. The market is positively glutted with set-top boxes, streaming sticks, game consoles and other devices. Tom's Guide has compiled a list of the best devices to fit various budgets and streaming preferences.
In general terms, your choices boil down to devices from Roku, Google, Amazon and Apple, plus game consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The Roku Streaming Stick+ is our top pick in this category, as it offers thousands of channels, 4K resolution and an inventive interface.
Amazon and Google also produce a 4K players: the Amazon Fire TV and the Chromecast Ultra, respectively. An Apple TV is a good choice for consumers who already own a lot of Apple devices, while if you plan to do a lot of gaming, a PS4 or an Xbox One is the way to go. Streaming devices range in price from $35 to $400.
Finally, if you have a laptop or don't mind moving your desktop to the living room, you can simply plug your computer into your TV via HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA or DVI cable (depending on which ports you possess). Grab a wireless mouse and keyboard, and voilà : You have access to almost every streaming music and video service on Earth.
MORE: Best Streaming Players: Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV & More
Once you've picked up the appropriate device, all that's left is to pick the services that provide the shows you want to watch.
Streaming Services
While Netflix ($8-12 per month), Hulu ($8-12 per month) and Amazon Prime ($119 per year) are the most recognizable streaming services, they are not the only ones available. In fact, traditional streaming services â wherein you pay a monthly fee to consume as much content as you like on-demand â are only a small part of the market. Depending on how much you're willing to spend (from nothing up to hundreds of dollars per year), you can get just about anything you used to enjoy on cable.
Cable-Replacement Services
The most expensive, but also most comprehensive, streaming services are known as cable replacements. This includes services like Sling TV, PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.
Cable-replacement streaming services work exactly the same as having cable â live channels presented in real time â except they come streaming over the Internet rather than via an analog wire. The upside is that you don't have to give up the channels that you love. Sling TV carries multiple ESPN stations, plus Cartoon Network, TBS, Bloomberg, CNN, History and dozens of others.
Playstation Vue
PlayStation Vue offers SyFy, Spike, USA, VH1, Fox News, Nickelodeon and more. You can also record programs to watch later on PS Vue, just like you would with a cable DVR box.
MORE: How to Buy a Set Top Box or Streaming Media Player
However, you may not be saving much money. While Sling TV starts at $25 per month, the costs of adding extra stations like Epix, HBO and Univision can pile up pretty fast. PlayStation Vue starts at $40 per month, and can go up to $80, depending on your region. DirecTV Now ranges from $40 per month to $75 per month.
Streaming Subscriptions
Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime are the best-known subscription-based services, and for good reason. They have excellent selections of TV shows and movies, both modern and classic, and the services are quite inexpensive. Each one costs between $8 and $12 per month, depending on what kind of options you need. Even if you subscribe to all three, this will represent a substantial price break over cable.
Tom's Guide compared all three services head-to-head-to-head, and discovered that Netflix is generally the best of the three. However, the services do not offer exactly the same thing. Netflix is a good all-purpose service, while Hulu focuses on recently aired TV, and Amazon Prime is part of a larger service that also offers free shipping on Amazon orders, e-book loans and other perks. (Viewers who just want Amazon Video without any other perks can now subscribe to it for $9 per month.)
Recent cord-cutters will probably want to keep an eye on Hulu, since network and cable shows often show up on the service just a day or so after airing on TV. On the other hand, if you want a rich backlog of classic shows (and ambitious original programming), Netflix or Amazon is probably the way to go.
MORE: Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon Prime: Streaming Showdown
If there's one particular movie or show you want to watch, your best bet is to look it up with JustWatch: a website that trawls more than 20 streaming, Ã la carte and on-demand services to show you where your content is available. If there's a series you want to watch, for example, looking it up on JustWatch and subscribing to that service for just a few months could save you a lot of money. Amazon Channels gives Prime members the ability to purchase individual channels, and avoid spending money on networks they don't watch. Options include premium channels (HBO, Showtime) and the family friendly PBS Kids.
You should also keep an eye on the trend of TV networks offering their own streaming subscription channels. CBS All Access, for example, is exactly what it sounds like: a combination of live CBS TV, on-demand CBS programming and next-day episodes for new CBS shows.
Sports
One of the toughest things for cord-cutters to give up is sports content, since cable and satellite TV give access not only to home games, but also to matches from all around the world. An HD antenna will keep you covered for local games. Otherwise, you have two options: a cable-replacement service, or a streaming sports service. Every major sports organization offers some kind of streaming package, from MLB.TV to NFL Live to NBA League Pass. These services are expensive compared to streaming subscriptions, and can cost between $100 and $200 per year.
MORE: How to Watch NFL Games Online If you're a die-hard sports fan in general, a cable subscription is probably worthwhile for that content alone. But if you follow only one or two teams in one or two sports, you can probably get away with paying $15 to $20 per month â much less than traditional paid TV. To learn more about streaming sports services, visit your sport of choice's website (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, etc.) and click on its streaming section. It will likely be toward the top of the page on one of the toolbars.
Premium Channels
The new video import engine can deal with a more extensive variety of formats, such as AVCHD; a brand new Timeline panel introduces your movie more intelligently; also youâre able to add another music track, drag and fall adjustments and fades, and quickly cut, splice and preview clips to create the results you want.Extended content-aware performance sees the inclusion of a Content-Aware Transfer, which allows you to draw an item and transfer it into a different component of the picture, whereas Photoshop intelligently matches in the backdrop. New blur alternatives â Field, Iris, and Tilt-Shift â assist you to adjust your depth of field and choose what portions of the photo you would like fuzzy, and all with handy on-image controls so that you get a full-sized preview of their outcomes. Layer enhancements see Shape Layers substituted by Vector Layers, which may have a rap and fill (solid colors, gradients or patterns). None of this sounds quite enough for Adobe, however, who with this release also have considerably extended Photoshopâs video performance. Keygen adobe photoshop cs6 2017. This will not always work; unsurprisingly, however, a Content-Aware Patch alternative means that you may give the app a little support, wherever necessary.
By cutting the cord, you're also losing your access to premium channels, which often have some of the most daring content on TV. Networks like HBO, Showtime and Starz are the prime destination for edgy dramas like Game of Thrones, Homeland and Outlander, respectively. You can also get raunchy comedy specials, niche documentaries and newly released movies.
The good news is that premium channels are starting to cut out the middleman. The three aforementioned networks all exist in stand-alone formats. HBO Now costs $15 per month, Showtime Anytime costs $11 per month and Starz costs $9 per month. Subscribing to these channels allows you to stream shows, either as soon as they air or on-demand after the fact. You can also stream movies, comedy specials, documentaries and even specialty sports events, just like what you get on the cable channel. The price tags are not for the faint of heart, since each one is just as expensive (if not more so) than a comprehensive streaming service. All three apps are widely available, so you should be covered whether you use a smart TV, streaming player, game console, mobile device or computer.
Foreign TV
While foreign-TV streams make for a huge topic on their own, it's worth pointing out that cutting the cord opens the door to a whole world of TV from other countries. Offering entire cable channels for individual linguistic niches would be unthinkable, but there are a ton of streaming channels dedicated to just that.
For starters, anime fans should check out Crunchyroll. DramaFever brings Korean dramas and sitcoms to Western audiences, while YuppTV broadcasts a variety of news, sports, music and serials in Hindi. Those who prefer programs in English can check out Acorn TV, which streams British TV to expats and Anglophiles all around the world. These channels are available on most streaming devices, but not every service is available on every device. Your best bet is to check the manufacturer's website for your streaming device and see if the channel is supported before dropping the money on a subscription to it.
Other Services
There are thousands of niche channels, from local live news stations to camera feeds that show nothing but goats. (Really.) One service worth checking out is Plex.
Plex is a fantastic service, which allows you to make a media library on your computer, then stream it to your TV, mobile device or other computer anywhere in the world. Plex has become one of the most comprehensive media servers around, as it also lets users watch and record live TV.
Beyond that, there's a whole world of streaming content to explore. No, you can't cut the cord and continue to watch every single one of your favorite shows in real time â at least not yet. But you'll never again be shackled to an expensive service that broadcasts mostly junk, and that's worth the price of a few prime-time dramas.
Most of us have a television at home with limited free channels to watch unless you subscribe to satellite or cable TV that provides a wider ranger of channels. If you didnât know, it is possible to get free access to thousands of TV channels online from your computer by just installing a software without a TV card or any other hardware other than your computer, web browser and an Internet connection. These software are not sophisticated as it only provides a working TV channel listings and also searching or filtering capabilities. You will however need media player software such as Windows Media Player or RealPlayer to stream the video to your computer.
If you search on the Internet, you can easily find a lot of software that claims to allow you to watch thousands of TV channels from your computer. After testing more than a dozen of such software, we end up getting non working channels on half of the software while the working ones are mostly shareware that requires a paid license. Weâve tested and compiled a working list of 5 software which you can watch TV from your computer for free.
1. JLCâs Internet TV
This is one of our favorite. Although it is not actively being updated but there are quite a lot of channels that still works. It is free and most importantly clean from any sneaky adware installation during setup. After installation, starting JLCâs Internet TV the first time will prompt you to download the latest channel list. There were a whopping 2697 channels when we tested it and the useful information such as ratings, language, bitrate, category, channel name and country on the channel list is very useful for sorting purposes. The filtering and search function makes it even easier to retrieve the channels that you are interested in.
The only small problem we experienced was the setup is an older version 1.1.0. You will have to run the update twice from Help > Check for updates in order to get updated to the latest version 1.2.1 that has a better channel listings and bug fixes.
Download JLCâs Internet TV
2. Readon TV Movie Radio Player
Readon TV Player is another of our favorite because not only it has its own channel listings including live sports, it also support 3rd party TV/Radio services such as SopCast, ShoutCast TV, TVU Player, YouTube and PPStream. This saves you the trouble of installing multiple full TV player software when it only requires a plugin to stream which can also be easily installed from the Plugins menu. The channels can be filtered by country, genre or favorites and it has a search function as well. Runs only on Windows.
Download Readon TV Movie Radio Player
3. SopCast
SopCast uses a unique P2P technology to stream the channels. There are not a lot of channels but some of the rare ones such as HBO and Disney Junior are included in the list. To use SopCast, run the program and you can either login as anonymous or your account. Go to Live Channels tab and double click on the channels that you want to stream. SopCast is also capable of broadcasting video or audio but it requires you to login to your account which can be created for free. Supports Windows, Linux, Mac and Android devices.
During installation, the Ask Toolbar will be prompted to install by default. Make sure you select Custom Installation and uncheck both of the checkboxes before clicking the Install button.
Download SopCast
4. TVUPlayer
TVUPlayer by TVU Networks has been providing free TV since 2005. You can sort the channels from the category, languages, and also searching using a keyword. A very useful piece of information shown when hovering your mouse cursor over the channels is the bandwidth and signal strength meter so you have a higher chance of choosing a video channel that will stream without requiring to buffer all the time. TVUPlayer works on Windows and Mac.
Download TVUPlayer
5. Online TV Player
There are 2 versions of Online TV Player which is the free and PRO. The paid version contains more channels but from what we see in the channel list, the free version already contains more than a hundred channels. The channels are sorted in a tree view according to country and you can filter based on bandwidth connection, libraries or country. There is also a search function where you can find the name of the channel that you want to watch. The bitrate is also displayed where higher bitrate means better quality but requires a faster connection to stream.
The graphical user interface seems to be a bit outdated but rest assured that the given channels are still working.
Download Online TV Player
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Cool stuff. been using Kodi and Readon TV Movie bout a year now for me and for my kids too. and i came across with Mobdro its a great app too. it runs on smart tv, mobile and pcâ¦
Reply
Aarif A. Ahnaf12 months ago
JLCâs Internet TV I like this process
Reply
Wiplay Cable Tv Software For Pc
Half the download links are out of date ⦠but for the retards here complaining about sites being up for sale by GoDaddy etc ⦠there is a tool called GOOGLE ⦠use it and you will find alternate download locations. DUH!
Reply
Eric Solash3 years ago
Looks like OnLine TV Player has stopped working â the ânameâ is available on GoDaddy
Reply
JLCâ s internet TV software is not available anymore due to health problems the developer has.
Reply
josephwin11 years ago
Thanks for sharing this to all of usâ¦. Itâs pretty cool.
Reply
Thanks! Iâve been looking for another software like this one!
Reply
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This document pertains to HP or Compaq PCs with Windows Vista and an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connector for connecting a monitor or TV.
You can connect a monitor or television to your computer as the primary display (monitor) or as the secondary display. This document describes how to connect a television to your Windows Vista computer using an HDMI connection on an NVIDIA GeForce or ATI Radeon graphics card in the computer, and how to use the card software to adjust settings.
The graphics card in your computer may have more than one connector. Most graphics cards support connecting one or two displays at a time.
Figure : HDMI connector on an example graphics card
When you use HDMI to connect your display, you need to adjust some settings through Windows Vista to hear sound through the display (as described in Selecting HDMI as the default audio device in Windows Vista). Because of this, HP recommends that you connect analog speakers to the computer Audio Line Out connector if you want to hear sound during the initial setup of the computer.
With more monthly billing and high costs, paying for cable and satellite TV is not a good situation for many people. Things become limited and there is no reason for all that. On the other side, there are millions of others who know how to watch TV without cable. They can watch free channels online from their laptops and with a powerful software.
In other words, they are watching their favorite shows and series for free. The good news is that you can also be one of these lucky people who save money. And you donât need any complicated applications that no one wants to use.
How to watch live TV online from your computer
With over 3500 satellite channels and counting, Satellite Direct is the only high-quality, and the best internet TV software that millions of people around U.S, and the world are using. Itâs not only powerful in streaming and television channel services, but also, itâs easy to use, and even, a 5 years old child can use it. You can watch local channels online and also thousands of worldwide programs.
Unlike the classic ways, where you need to install hardware and setting the dish receivers, you donât need any of them anymore. Your Mac or PC is what you need, the software is easy to install, and the interface is beautiful and easy to use.
This is how it looks like, in your computer, you can browse all those thousands of TV channels by categories. At the same time, you can set up everything with one click.
There is no other place on the web to find this great tool that make the life easy. The greatest thing is that you can watch your favorite channels from any country, and any place in the world. The only requirement is to have an Internet connection.
So, if you are in the UK now, you can watch channels for free. Later, when you move to the U.S or any other country, you still have the software on your computer. That way, you take thousands of TV channels with you where you go.
Of course, you donât need to copy the software in order to use it anywhere. You have your login information and you can download it again, when you want, and where you need it.
Satellite Direct is the only recommended and the best online TV software to access channels, for free and without restrictions.
If youâre using the cable or the satellite TV now, you already know that there are many channels that you canât access without payment. Luckily, nothing is limited in your software and there is no need to add any extra tools.
I loved the speed of the software that makes watching TV better than using the cable, or the satellite combined. You canât compare the one that offer a few hundreds of channels and you should pay every month, with the other that offer thousands of TV channels for free, and with a single payment.
Watch TV anywhere
Many people join other sites to watch live TV programs on the internet, but, later, they find that they can only access a few episodes, and everything is limited and outdated. At the same time, there are many sites that offer the worst streaming speed that no one wants to have.
Thatâs why using the above, recommended software is the perfect solution for everyone who needs to wants episodes, channels, and movies for free and in real-time. The best thing is that no matter where you are, you can watch your best TV programs anywhere.
Thatâs without talking about the quality of the streaming and showing images, that you canât find anywhere else.
Cable Tv Software Decoder
As you can see from the above screenshot, you get the channel list, by country, and that makes things easier and better. For example, if you need Canadian channels, just select the appropriate option from the menu, and you get all the list.
No matter if you want to use a PC or a desktop, everything works perfectly, and without any issues like what happens with the old hardware solutions. Also, you can connect your computer to the TV and watch channels from there.
Itâs just a solution if you want to use your actual TV and not the PC. Your children and all the family can watch their best movies and shows without paying any extra fees.
Thatâs the difference with this amazing TV software that works on iOS, and any Windows version. Just make sure to click the âupdateâ button at the tip of your menu. Thatâs to make everything working at the top performance, and you get the best quality all the time.
There is no bandwidth limit, and that gives you the total freedom. Channels access is also unlimited and you have TV channels on your computer that works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, for the full year. The channels will be updated automatically, but, you need to update your computer if you think it needs that.
For channels, they are from all the categories, you have lots of TV shows, business channels, entertainment, news, and everything else, that you can find in the world. But, without limits this time, and thatâs the best part.
To start watching all these TV channels online, and get unlimited customer support and updates, you have to create your account now, and download this Internet TV software that lets you stop paying the monthly subscription fees, for cable and satellite companies.
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