Cheap tv tuner for laptop?

Hey guys. I'm at college and don't want to buy a tv so I've been looking for a cheap tv tuner. I would prefer it to be usb so I could use it on other laptops. Any recommendations on a cheap one? Thanks

 

Yes, don't buy a cheap one! There are not the type of things where quality can be compromised. You need the best reception (and features) possible to enjoy your viewing experience. So don't compromise on quality.

That said, if you I'd like to recommend a dual tuner. Windows Media Player (WMP) can handle two tuners, so if you have Windows Premium OS or better, you might as well maximize your investment.

 

Try this:
http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_MYCINU3100/

Currently $24 after rebate w/ free shipping. I've used a few of USB TV tuners including this Asus one, Hauppauge 950, and AverMedia and found the Asus U3100 to be slightly better than the rest. Performance will rely solely on your CPU and distance from the broadcasting station, but putting those factors aside, Asus seems to have a more refined software and user interface.

 

(i think you meant Windows Media Center, which is present in Windows Home Premium or Ultimate)

i don't think there is that much difference in quality between ATSC tuners... they just lock on the frequeny and dump the data to a hdd or RAM, then asks your software to decode using CPU/GPU... its more of the features and hardware provided that makes the difference(remote controls, analog inputs like component/svideo?, antenna provided?,...)

NTSC tuners, on the other hand, may have stuff like hardware acceleration which makes a huge difference

most USB (stick) tuners only have one input... some hybrid ones can do ATSC/QAM/NTSC, but still one input at a time... USB box-tuners may be dual, but more expensive

if you aren't subscribing to cable and are using an antenna for over-the-air ATSC tv, you should look at http://antennaweb.org and see what antenna you need... i highly recommend the Terk HDTVa