Best software to watch TV on your computer?

[thejerkface]

I have two questions:

#1: I recently bought and installed a TV-Tuner card so I could watch TV on my computer. It was an ATI card that came with a program called Catalyst Media Center. I have a 30" Dell monitor that displays at 2560x1600 resolution. There is a known issue with Catalyst Media Center where it somehow doesn't work at that resolution (as confirmed by support). So, I would like to still be able to watch TV on my computer without having to change my display settings. What software would you recommend to watch TV on my computer? I would like the software to be free, b/c I don't want to spend more money after getting the card.

#2: I tried playing my Wii on the computer through the TV tuner card. However, the response time from the controller was so laggy that it was pretty much unplayable. What is the best solution to play my Wii on my Dell 3007WFP? I want to also to be able to have sound in my set-up and I have speakers hooked up to my computer. I've read that there are periphereals you can buy to do this set-up, but I'm not sure what they are exactly. I've also heard there's issue where if you configure the Wii with the monitor to display at 480p using component cables, games that don't support progressive scan (ie some Gamecube games) won't work and only a black screen will come up. Any ideas on how to get the set-up I want?

[TyFuji]

1) That type of card is pretty much proprietary as far as I know. The software might be the only way to view/record from that source, so your best bet is to return it.

2) Video-capture cards have too large a delay to play games on. If you run the component straight to the 3007WFP, you can just plug in the RGB component inputs straight into the screen (assuming it has component input). For audio, get an adapter from radio shack to convert the red/white outputs from the wii to one standard 1/8 output, then plug speakers into that (you may need a female/female adapter for this). If the monitor lacks component input, you can purchase boxes that convert component to VGA or DVI, but they are expensive. In this case, you should just use composite output. Composite is also the solution for non-progressive scan games.

[LuckyTxGuy]

If that ATI card is just a normal TV tuner and not linked to proprietary software as TyFuji suspects (I have no idea?) then I can offer a couple suggestions.

I personally use Windows XP Media Center on my home theater PC and have done so since it's release. I watch and record 100% of my TV through XP MCE. Simply put, it's awesome. There are some small things I don't like but over all it's great, simple to use, but still has a ton of nice features. However, you'd have to buy XP MCE if it's not the OS your computer already has on it.

Another option would be Snapstream's Beyond TV. I used this software back before MCE came out and BTV was still in it's infancy and had alot of bugs and glitches. The interface was nice, as were the features but it wasn't 100% reliable. However, I know that it is many versions down the road now and I've heard nothing but praise about it. You can Google the name and find their website with a ton of info.

I think either of those choices would be just fine and if you don't already have XP Media Center the easiest bet would be BTV so you don't have to reinstall your OS. But if this computer will be used for nothing but watching TV the reinstall might be worth it.

I hope that info helps more than it confuses. If you have more questions, feel free to ask.