A TV tuner card is a card that can be plugged into the motherboard of a computer, which in turn allows that computer to receive television signals broadcast in a variety of ways. Oftentimes the cards, using available software, also allow the user to record television signals into files on her computer for archival purposes, much the same way as old VCRs worked.
Presently, there are four different kinds of TV tuner cards available.
Analog TV Tuners
Analog TV tuners are ones that take normal, over-the-air television signals and make them viewable on a computer. They simply transfer the raw video broadcast directly onto the computer, which makes them usable primarily for viewing television programs in "real time." The raw broadcast feed is often so large, however, that if recording is desired they would need to be compressed in order to conserve hard drive space.
These types of cards will become obsolete in February 2009 when television broadcast standards move permanently to digital broadcasting.
Digital TV Tuners
A digital TV tuner is one that allows a computer to display digital, oftentimes high definition, television signals. Digital TV is broadcast in the MPEG 2 format, which makes it both incredibly easy and ultimately ideal for the computer to read and record these signals.
Combination TV Tuners
A combination, or "combo," TV tuner is one that has two separate tuners on the card itself--one for digital signals and one for analog signals. This can enable you to watch a digital television broadcast while recording an analog one, or vice versa.
Hybrid TV Tuners
A "hybrid" TV tuner is one that can switch between receiving analog television broadcasts or digital television broadcasts. This cannot be done simultaneously, though. One must stop a digital broadcast and reconfigure the card in order to start an analog one, and vice versa.
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