Comments on: How can I watch TV on my computer?

By: Hippo

Hippo — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:44:04 +0000

Nice list. For people living in the US be sure to check out Hulu, Sidereel, OVguide or ALLUC. I’m 100% sure you can find any episode of lost on their!

By: Nathan Pledger

Nathan Pledger — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:16:59 +0000

Technically, yes. It is just an 11-foot experience wrapper around Windows Media Player, after all. But, as ever, MS don’t give a crap about the UK market and as they’re US Xbox 360 dashboard is loads better than the UK one, so their Media Centre is. Used to have a BBC channel, but then they pulled it. Used to use it all the time, was great VOD. Coolroom is quite neat, which is one of the “channels” on the service, but I don’t think MS push it as much as they should. I suspect their Media Room is their current focus, which looking at the latest demo from BBC’s Journalism Labs is quite awesome (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/journalismlabs/2008/12/journalism_and_iptv.html).

By: Jamie Cohen

Jamie Cohen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:30:24 +0000

Type hulu into google. Its a really cool website where you can watch most shows. I dont know how they do it legally but its completely legal. There was a commercial for it during the super bowl. Try “Its always sunny in philadelphia” Best show on TV. I hope this helps

By: Owen

Owen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:26:50 +0000

@Nathan: Thanks for your informative comment.

I was under the impression that to use Windows Media Centre to watch live TV you would need a TV card and a signal source (aerial, satellite dish etc). Mike (the person who asked the question) had a laptop and and internet connection, which is why I pointed him in that direction.

Can Windows Media Centre stream UK channels?

By: Owen

Owen — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:24:21 +0000

@Andrew: Sorry I wouldn’t know one for the US off the top of my head, but maybe some other reader can recommend one?

By: Nathan Pledger

Nathan Pledger — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:05:12 +0000

You forgot Windows Media Centre, which is installed on most installations of Windows Vista. If you have Windows Vista Home Premium or above, you have it.

Windows Media Centre is by far the most reliable and easy to use HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer) I have found (and I’ve tried a few, and worked on one) out there. Not only does it allow watching on your PC, but if you have an XBox 360, you can do everything on there, too so you don’t need a bulky computer in your front room. It works with Terrestrial, Digital Terrestrial, $ky, Freesat, Freesat from $ky and Cable. What other platform offers such flexibility? (Apart from my beloved, but neglected TiVo)

“Apple TV” is only a half solution, MediaPortal is open source and badly architected from the outset, MythTV is too technical for most users, TiVo is no longer available in the UK. There are others but Media Centre is by far the best solution for the average user. Hopefully in Windows 7, we should get full HD PVR functionality for the UK, too.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:00:08 +0000

That’s pretty cool for the UK, do you know of a similar service for the US market?