HDTV information resource - HD TV plasma television

Though the prices of HDTV's are still well out of reach for some, there are several options available for turning your PC into an HDTV monitor that are much more affordable.

With an HDTV capable graphics card and a high resolution monitor, its fairly simple to turn your home computer into a full fledged HDTV system. The ATI HDTV Wonder Card, for example, is available for $199. Their entire package includes their HDTV PCI card which goes directly inside your PC, a remote control for you new HDTV tuner and a directional indoor HDTV antenna.

The PCI card allows your PC to receive all available HDTV broadcasts in your neighborhood. The card can also handle traditional analog cable TV, but not digital or satellite signals.

Though you would assume you would need to hook this system up to whatever cable system you might have, in most cases that's actually not true. Additionally, the software that comes with the package allows you to record broadcasts, turning your newly minted HDTV PC into a tivo-like system as well.

Predictably, this equipment tends to work best on the newer high-end Pc's. The minimum requirements are as follows: ATI's system requirements call for a PC running Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or higher), a Pentium 4, Celeron or Athlon processor (or compatible) operating at 1.3 GHz or greater, 256 MB of system memory, an available PCI slot for the Wonder card, a graphics card with 64 MB or more of frame buffer memory and Microsoft DirectX 9.0 support, a sound card with speakers and an available USB port for the remote control receiver.

Though the smaller sizes of computer screens make this sort of HDTV viewing inherently less spectacular, this is a great alternative for those who are not quite ready to spend the thousands of dollars needed to set up a traditional HDTV system in their living room.

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