Watch live TV on your computer using a network or a station’s website, a tuner, or paid streaming services can be fun. For this you have to follow any of the given methods at your convenience.
Let’s get started with it in detail without losing any minute.
Methods : How to Watch TV on Your Computer
- Watching on a TV Website
- Using Subscription Services
- Using a TV Tuner
Method 1: Watching on a TV Website
- Open a Web browser on the computer.
- Search for a TV network or TV website. Many local stations, as well as many major networks and cable channels, have a program to cater to the needs of their customers and continuously stream the latest episodes of the popular shows aired through channel for free on their websites. Providers even stream their live broadcasts in their areas. Some of the major networks providing streaming content include:
- Locate a link to watch TV. Not all networks or stations will have the option. If a site doesn’t provide online programming, check some other sites, like network affiliates in different markets.
- Click the link.
- Watch TV.
Method 2 : Using Subscription Services
- Go to a subscription service site in the browser.
- If you are a cable or satellite subscriber, you can watch cable networks. You just have to sign in to a network’s site with the subscription information.
- Select the services and plans that best suit the needs.
- Watch live TV. You can watch live TV on the computer with a subscription to Hulu’s Live TV beta program or Sling TV. YouTube has also launched YouTube TV in select cities which provides streaming of live TV for a flat monthly rate.
- You do not need a cable or satellite TV subscription to use Sling TV or Hulu, as both of them have more than 50 available channels.
- Hulu’s live TV service is limited to certain devices such as Chromecast and 4th Generation Apple TV.
- Watch recent TV shows.
- Hulu provides you to watch programming from major broadcast and cable networks. In some cases, new shows become available the day after they air it in general. Most Hulu shows still have commercial breaks. You have to pay more for a premium no-commercials subscription.
- HBO Now is HBO’s standalone subscription service, through which you can watch new and archived HBO series, like “Game of Thrones.” New episodes are available online within hours of their original air time. Unlike the cable-affiliated service, HBO Go, HBO Now does not need a cable or satellite TV subscription.
- Watch entire seasons of TV series. Entire seasons of television series are available from Hulu and HBO, as well as:
- Netflix, which releases its original programming, like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black,” by the season rather than by the episode. Netflix has entire archived seasons of many popular TV series from many networks.
- Amazon Prime provides a large number of archived series, as well as its own original programming, such as “Transparent” and “The Man in the High Castle.”
Method 3 : Using a TV Tuner
- Purchase an external TV tuner. A TV tuner allows you to connect your antenna or cable box to your computer, and then use your computer to watch and change channels using onscreen controls.
- TV tuners for computers are available from most major electronics retailers or through online outlets such as Amazon and Newegg.
- Many TV tuners allow you to record footage and save it to watch later, much like a DVR.
- Connect the tuner to a USB port. Slide the tuner directly into a USB port on the computer, or a USB extension cable if the ports are too close together to accommodate the tuner. Avoid using a USB hub, as they usually do not draw enough power.
- You can install a TV tuner card into a spare PCI slot on the computer, though this is fairly difficult compared to plugging in a USB tuner. See this guide for details on installing PCI cards.
- An external USB TV tuner is much simpler to install than a TV tuner card, and is just as powerful.
- Connect antenna or cable box. Many tuners come with a built-in antenna. Use the coaxial connector to attach a cable from the antenna or cable box to TV. If you wish to keep the cable box connected to TV, but want to connect it to the computer, you will need a coaxial cable splitter.
- Install the tuner software. You may require to install software that came packaged with the tuner. Follow the instructions that came with the tuner to do so.
- Scan for channels. Switch on the TV tuner software. Follow the instructions to scan for available channels. If you are using an antenna, the channels you receive will depend on the power of the antenna and signal strength.
- Watch TV.