There has been a lot of interest in watching TV on the internet in the past few years. In accordance with that, there is also so much information about this subject on the internet that one may end up confused about what it is all about. This article aims at clearing up all that confusion & providing some useful information regarding internet TV.

There are 3 ways to start watching TV on the computer.

TV Tuner Card (also called as PCTV card or DirecTV cards)

This is the method of watching TV on the computer that most people may be familiar with. Basically, what one has to do is buy a credit-card sized device from computer hardware shops & plug it into the PCI slot in the motherboard or in the USB port. Then, appropriate software such as Pinnacle Media Center has to be purchased & installed on the computer. Then the software interlinks the cable TV service with the computer thus enabling you to watch TV on the Computer.

Let’s look at what kind of tools we will need & also the cost factor. These cards can be bought off eBay, or other online trading sites. They can also be picked off the shelf of a computer hardware shop. Along with the software that needs to be installed, the installation costs can easily exceed $300. Some of you may also be using illegal software without getting caught. However, this won’t work with Watching TV using this method as TV Providers such as ESPN are constantly taking measures to cut out piracy & once they come to know that what you are doing is illegal, they may immediately take the channel off-air. Don’t even bother to listen to people who offer unencrypted DirecTV cards to watch Internet TV as the chances of getting caught while doing so are extremely high.

Free Internet TV

Doing a Google search for this will let you know that there are many sites such as wwitv, beelinetv, free-internet-tv.org, channelking.com that offer thousands of channels for watching TV on the internet. But upon usage, one will realize that most of the channels that one really wants to see (such as ESPN, Discovery etc.) aren’t being aired. Besides, the quality of the streaming isn’t all that great either. So, it’s not really an ideal option unless you are getting the kind of channels you want. However, the advantage of this over TV tuner cards is that you are spending nil. But the disadvantage is that you don’t get the channels that you actually want. So let’s take a look at the third option.

Watch TV on the Internet

This is the most popular method to watch Internet TV & has a rising trend. You can say that it is a mix of the first 2 methods. You get most of the extremely popular channels & you get very good quality content. And what’s more? It’s perfectly legal & does not infringe any sort of copyrights. This method of watching TV really works since it is also cost effective. For less than $50 you’ve got yourself an awesome piece of software that can make your TV experience a great deal better. Besides you even get free bonuses such as unlimited movie downloads, ipod converters etc.

The Verdict – Among the 3 methods, the 3rd method easily wins in all areas. Though you won’t have the kind of quality that you get with Cable TV, if you are a frequent traveler or spend a lot of time in front of your PC, then watching TV on the Internet is perfect for you.