PC TV - Any Users?

[tomgv15]

I am considering buying PC TV software, but not ready to take the plunge. I am not currently hooked up to cable or satellite services. I'd like to hear from current users for other opinions than I've found on the Web.

[Reality Believer]

Do you have a link to the item you are considering? Are you talking about streaming TV from the internet or playing a broadcast signal on your PC?

If you want to pump a TV cable signal into your computer, you also need the TV card like those available from Hauppauge, but clarification on exactly what you want to do is needed.

[tomgv15]

One company I'm looking at is TV Show Downloads. There is no mention of a TV card. For $39.95 they're offering unlimited access to DVD quality TV shows & movies, unlimited music downloads for additional 14.95 plus "free" software for cd burning and a security package. The company is Click Bank Marketplace, claiming to be "the web's leading retailer of digital products." I can't get into the site any further without giving them my card number. I'm a little wary of the frequent usage of "free".

[prewitt81]

Scam. A company making an offer like that at those prices cannot come through unless the shows are ones for which there is no demand (QVC Russia, The Bread Channel, etc.).

Do you have a link to what you're looking at?

[Reality Believer]

Yes, we need a link to see specifically what you are looking at, but I did a quick search and found some similar sites that don't give you many specifics and require you to sign up before you get to the details.

It looks to me like they are providing an index to peer to peer (P2P) networks where you can download TV shows and music that people have ripped from CD's, DVD's and DVR's, and put up for seeding on P2P trackers like Bittorrent and Pirate Bay. If you are savvy about that, you don't need to pay for anything. Just do some research on were to get a P2P client and find the shows for yourself. Also know this is illegal in most countries.

A legitimate TV show download is going to be affiliated with a known broadcaster, and will probably require a per episode fee. No blanket fee is going to cover that.

[Vitnir]

I believe that they are streaming the content live so there is no local copy of the show in your computer, that bypasses the piracy question even though it's on a technicality.
I investigated this when I missed an episode of Battlestar Galactica and found that iTunes sells the show but not outside of USA (hello P2P).