can I get HDTV on my DELL inspirion 9200 notebook?

rickrock88 · 02-24-2005, 04:24 PM

I will be subscribing to HDTV through Comcast and I want to watch HDTV programming on my DELL Inspiroon notebook(notebook does not have internal tv tuner)

So, do I purchase an external TV tuner ( and hook up through USB I guess) for my notebook and hook up my Comcast HDTV tuner to the notebook tuner and then the notebook tuner to my computer?

Does the Notebook tuner need to be HDTV ready/capable?

does a true HDTV external notebook tuner exist?

Also, is the picture compromised as the signal first goes through my Comcast HDTV tuner, then through my HDTV notebook tuner?

Finally, can I run the Comcast HDTV tuner to a run-of-the mill external notebook tuner and still receive a true HDTV signal.

Any info is greatly appreciated.

thank you

I want my HDTV:-)

RSawdey · 03-06-2005, 01:39 PM

One USED to exist, but now I'm not sure... Company called Sasem had a site called www.usbhdtv.com but it's down. I don't know of any HDTV tuners right now that can connect to a notebook.

Only one PC HDTV tuner can receive any cable, and that's a PCI card. It can only receive cable content that's not copy protected.

Any tuner that's going to be receiving HD has to be an HD compatible one. So you can NOT pass an HDTV signal thru an SDTV tuner. The coax output on the back of the cable STB is not the full cable signal, just a fake NTSC channel 3 downconverted version of what is currently being viewed, anyway.

Any way to get any HD content out of your cable STB and into the PC is via Firewire (if you have a port & run XP & have the utility). This only works for channels that aren't copy protected - as PC Firewire can't pass a copy protected signal.

02-24-2005, 04:24 PM	#1
rickrock88 What is HD? Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2	can I get HDTV on my DELL inspirion 9200 notebook? I will be subscribing to HDTV through Comcast and I want to watch HDTV programming on my DELL Inspiroon notebook(notebook does not have internal tv tuner) So, do I purchase an external TV tuner ( and hook up through USB I guess) for my notebook and hook up my Comcast HDTV tuner to the notebook tuner and then the notebook tuner to my computer? Does the Notebook tuner need to be HDTV ready/capable? does a true HDTV external notebook tuner exist? Also, is the picture compromised as the signal first goes through my Comcast HDTV tuner, then through my HDTV notebook tuner? Finally, can I run the Comcast HDTV tuner to a run-of-the mill external notebook tuner and still receive a true HDTV signal. Any info is greatly appreciated. thank you I want my HDTV:-)

03-06-2005, 01:39 PM	#2
RSawdey Mr. Wizard Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ferndale, Michigan Age: 61 Posts: 5,981	One USED to exist, but now I'm not sure... Company called Sasem had a site called www.usbhdtv.com but it's down. I don't know of any HDTV tuners right now that can connect to a notebook. Only one PC HDTV tuner can receive any cable, and that's a PCI card. It can only receive cable content that's not copy protected. Any tuner that's going to be receiving HD has to be an HD compatible one. So you can NOT pass an HDTV signal thru an SDTV tuner. The coax output on the back of the cable STB is not the full cable signal, just a fake NTSC channel 3 downconverted version of what is currently being viewed, anyway. Any way to get any HD content out of your cable STB and into the PC is via Firewire (if you have a port & run XP & have the utility). This only works for channels that aren't copy protected - as PC Firewire can't pass a copy protected signal.