USB TV tuner to watch TV on your laptop!

Do you need a converter box or special antennae to get the digital tv signals. I've seen the tuner at best buy, cost is like 70 bucks. Cheaper than a tv if they work.

 

Yes and no. Most of the cheaper ones are analog. You want digital or hybrid. It's getting harder to find good ones anymore. Since DVR's are becoming a norm, the market for quality TV tuners has fallen big time. The market was there in the first place, because you could install one or two tuners on your pc and record in very high quality, then share it and/or edit it. Don't be cheap on tuners either, you get what you pay for.
When tv tuners were a big deal. Hauppauge was #1. I have never heard of these newer brands. I used Winfast when I had tuners.(3 years ago) It was ...ok... for 50 bucks. Hauppauge was waaaay better, but cost a lot more too. They also have more bells n whistles and are almost always compatible with windows media center. My winfast was not compatiable with media center, but it did have its own software to use. The media center is convenient cuz it loads the tv guide for you and you can tell it to record future shows just like you would with a cable box. Again, my winfast didn't have a guide system.

I advise you to look at the customer reviews listed on this site. I swear by newegg when I research a product. You can see the reviews by either clicking a product, or clicking the orange/white eggs.

USB TV tuner-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380047%201685342849&name=USB%20Tuner%20Stick&cm_sp=tvtunersubcatstore-_-flashstorefront-_-usbtvtunerstick

External tuners-- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...tstore-_-flashstorefront-_-externaltvtunerbox

FYI, since usb tuners use the pc to do the signal converting, HD signals can kick an old laptops butt and get stuttery.

 

Also, make sure the USB is 2.0 or 3.0. 1.0 is just too slow making the images static or blurry.

Also, don't expect much if you are using a netbook, those things are just too slow.