Your PC as a digital TV. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. There's lots of confusion out there about whether consumers will have to rush out and buy brand new TVs when broadcasters switch over to digital next year. To clear up the picture so to speak…. if you have cable or satellite service, those boxes will do the converting for you no matter what kind of TV you have. If you receive over the air signals….on a TV not equipped with a digital tuner….you don't have to throw the set out…you'll just need an inexpensive converter box. Another alternative is to watch TV on your personal computer. AMD's Matt Kreiner says the company's latest TV Wonder products are all you need…
"In my hand is the ATI TV Wonder 600 USB stick. It's a small form factor. It's the size of a pen drive. It connects quite easily to a notebook or a PC and has the ability to receive off air analog television, off air digital television or through cable, you can receive analog cable signals into the PC."
Using a PC to watch TV also lets you record shows and play them back not only on your computer…but on any number of handheld devices….like iPods…without having to pay for the shows. The ATI unit of AMD also makes internal cards…some with two tuners…for PCs as well. Prices range from about a hundred dollars up to 150. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.