Not all is lost however, as you can take the video that comes from your cable box and stream it through to your computer. Most USB TV tuners are not set up to be able to work with a scrambled video channel, so if you were planning on ditching your cable box you might be in for a nasty surprise. Wait, I Might Not Be Able to Watch TV on This?ĭRM (Digital Rights Management) issues don't just crop up when dealing with cables. Due to the DRM issues with HDMI, you’re not likely to find a tuner that supports this kind of connection, but in most instances using component connectors is quite comparable. Many come with an additional dongle that will support several different connectors from S-Video to Component video. If you intend to use a different kind of connector make sure the tuner you’re looking at supports it.

If you’re getting your signal from over the air broadcasts or you’re using your tuner to listen to radio the steps are similar if your tuner supports it. If you have access to normal analog or digital cable signals through a coaxial cable this is likely all you’ll need to set it up. The most common way to do this is through a standard coaxial cable like the one you would screw into the back of your TV or cable box. Just like there are wide assortments of ways to connect video to your TV, there are as many ways to connect video to your computer. Image courtesy of Ambro / Connecting Your USB TV Tuner to Your Video Source

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