USB TV tuner w/o having cable?

[AZ-Tax]

Is there a USB TV tuner the plugs into my PC that does not require cable?

[appelman]

Need internet access

I believe you will always need internet access from somewhere.

[FEDUKE404]

You can watch over-the-air broadcasts

I believe you will always need internet access from somewhere.

Depends upon exactly what you are trying to accomplish. It is quite easy to obtain quality (all are now digital!) broadcast TV signals over the air. A friend who chooses NOT to pay for cable has such a set-up for their home TV. (They live in a rural area, and also have an old roof-top directional antenna they can remotely turn for stronger signals. They use a soon-to-become-extinct DSL setup for their computer/internet needs, to include an in-house router aka poor man's wifi.) Most broadcast stations, to include PBS stations, now also have "extra" simultaneous channels, such as WXYZ and WXYZ-1 and WXYZ-2 etc. On remotes, these are something like "5" and "5-1" and "5-2."

Obviously this does not work for viewing programs from distant TV stations or things such as ESPN which are never broadcast over the air. But at least they never have to "pay" for their limited TV viewing, and the digital signals provide excellent video quality even on larger screen TVs.

If AZ-Tax wants to watch "TV" on his computer, this would work. You do need first to become familiar with terms such as ATSC tuner and perhaps DTA adapter.

Otherwise, to get the many stations that most of us cannot live without (sports channels, movie channels, etc) you will need to bite the bullet to pay for cable or perhaps something like DirectTV. The lines between "TV" and "cable" and "internet" are decreasing daily.

So, if you merely want to watch local TV on your computer, without paying for cable, the device previously cited by JohnH is something that should suit your needs.

FE

[JohnH]

That's what we have done. I cut the cable several months ago and am using an indoor "Leaf" type antenna that I bought at Sam's for about $40 for a set of them. I found that running two of these antennas backwards through a signal splitter gives better coverage. We get about 20 channels, and one interesting thing is that the HD picture quality is better than cable. Some of the channels are oldies, but it's very entertaining when we do decide to watch TV. But we also get the major broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, NBC). All in all, it makes one a little more selective about what is watched, plus it's also easier to turn the darn thing off at times.

We have to forego all the ESPN, HBO, and various other alphabet channels, but we don't forego about $100 per month in our bank account. We still have phone and internet through Time Warner Cable, and it's interesting to see some of the offers they have been making since we cut them off. Their business model is to milk their loyal customers while treating new customers well with special deals, which I think can be used to one's advantage.

If I were inclined to keep cable (which I'm not), I'd nevertheless set up a broadcast antenna and use it for a few months. Then wait for the cable provider to come back with their deals and maybe play one off against the other. The savings might be worth the effort.

[kathyc2]

Another option is internet based Sling TV. For $20/mo you get ESPN, CNN and 20 or so other channels. HBO can be added for additional fee.

About the only thing I watch live is news and sports, rest is Hulu or Netflix. After my Dish contract runs out in a few months, I'll likely switch to Sling and add an antenna for local news.

[Roberts]

Another option is internet based Sling TV. For $20/mo you get ESPN, CNN and 20 or so other channels. HBO can be added for additional fee.

About the only thing I watch live is news and sports, rest is Hulu or Netflix. After my Dish contract runs out in a few months, I'll likely switch to Sling and add an antenna for local news.

Sling TV is a terrific deal. For $20 per month you get more than 20 channels and it's the one's my wife and I almost always watch.
For her it is Food and HGTV.
For me it's ESPN. We pay $5 more for the additional sports package because I need the SEC network for football.

The only problem is that it's good for 1 TV but with antenna's and Netflix type providers for the other TV, it works very well.

[TAXNJ]

Profession

Sling TV is a terrific deal. For $20 per month you get more than 20 channels and it's the one's my wife and I almost always watch.
For her it is Food and HGTV.
For me it's ESPN. We pay $5 more for the additional sports package because I need the SEC network for football.

The only problem is that it's good for 1 TV but with antenna's and Netflix type providers for the other TV, it works very well.

Only this profession looks for ways to save money.

The deal mention does not seem to have a good cost/benefit when for $7 more cable gives more channels and not limited to one TV. But if the parties do not mind taking turns with the TV it might work. Reminder of when households had only one TV and 7 channels.

[kathyc2]

Only this profession looks for ways to save money.

The deal mention does not seem to have a good cost/benefit when for $7 more cable gives more channels and not limited to one TV. But if the parties do not mind taking turns with the TV it might work. Reminder of when households had only one TV and 7 channels.

$30 for cable? More than double that in my area for anything that includes ESPN.

Roberts, when you say limited to one TV, do you mean that only one can be streaming at a time? IOW, can you watch on 1 or 2 but not just at the same time?

[Roberts]

$30 for cable? More than double that in my area for anything that includes ESPN.

Roberts, when you say limited to one TV, do you mean that only one can be streaming at a time? IOW, can you watch on 1 or 2 but not just at the same time?

You can stream on any TV, computer, tablet or phone - one at a time. You have to pay for another subscription if you want it happening twice at the same time.

This is why it works in our house. If I'm using it (or the wife), the other can watch off the antenna, watch a movie or TV show we've gotten from the library, watch with the other person (nope, not watching So You Think You Can Dance!) or READ A BOOK. Football season is REALLY the only time I have must watch TV. If it's really tough - I can stream online and view from my laptop.

[taxea]

My goodness, I do believe we just turned into a TV forum

[TAXNJ]

Fun

My goodness, I do believe we just turned into a TV forum

Just having fun on the mainland! See what you are missing. Think there might be a tax deduction somewhere in this post?