TV Tuners - general questions

Just a few questions about TV Tuners. How exactly do they work? and what do I need to watch TV on a laptop? The reason I ask, i'm "building" an HP HDX18, and it has the option of an integrated tv tuner. Will I have to hook up the laptop to a cable box or satellite receiver to watch TV on it? or is it internet based, as in, if I'm connected through Wi-Fi ANYWHERE, can I still use the tuner to watch TV

 

i m not a pro, but i have used usb tv tuner, tv tuner(pcie/agp card) and tv box.
if i were you i would choose to have the integrated tv tuner, cause now i am thinking about buying one. As for lappy people, our only choice to watch tv on lappy is to have a USB TV Tuner which is not cheap(bestbuy sell them around 100) or like you, having the manufacturer combine the feature as u need.
With the tv tuner, you can record the tv shows into digital format and burn them off on cds or upload them to youtube. my reason of buying one is that i dont have a TV in my room plus i often record funny tv shows/ads :3

And i believe you will have to plug the tv cable to the laptop in case of watching tv. It has nothing to do with internet, or does it lol. i know there is such thing called internet tv but i know that they are just p2p video streamming thru the internet, has nothing to do with tv tuner.

Last, i dont think it is possible to walk around in a park and watch tv everywhere. I only know a few exception (in some cities) that some free channels may have their tv signal broadcasted everywhere in the air but i think you wont get a good quality on it.
cheers

 

so basically, the only channels I'd be able to get is whatever I'm subscribed to here at the house? and the laptop basically becomes the cable box and video recorder... If this is the case, then I don't need a tuner, because I would be better off just sticking with a TV in my room.

 

Yep, that's pretty much it. TV tuners generally only have as much as, if not less functionality than a standard TV setup. I only find mine helpful when I don't want to have a TV and a computer in the same room, or when I want to play console games using my PC display. If you just want to watch TV, a regular TV is probably the better option, though many tuners are quite good these days.

 

the only reason I was really wanting a tuner was because my coax cable in my room is in a screwed up place, and I can't fit my desk in the gap. But since the tuner doesn't work like I wanted it to, I don't need to bother buying one. Oh well, thanks for the help! keeps me from wasting money on something I'll probably never use..granted I could just relocate the coax cable, or buy a desk to fit in the space..... I'll figure something out...

 

Have you ever thought about the slingbox?