TV networks tuning into Web options

The digital wall between computer and television is quickly crumbling.

After a few years of tepidly testing the waters of the Internet, television networks have started to fully embrace the potential for selling their shows to computer users. Whether selling it through third-party outlets such as iTunes and Amazon or using their own Web sites, the networks are making it even easier to watch their shows.

The good news for viewers is that the options for watching shows at convenient times and sans commercials are even greater, and in some cases cheaper, than even the current TiVo or DVR options. The quality can also be greater, and portability improved since the shows can be watched on laptops or iPods.

To a large extent, credit for the expansion of offerings is the simplicity of turning a home computer into a full-blown media center. Windows Vista allows users to essentially link their computer and TV, while Mac and PC users can use the AppleTV to view photos and watch iTunes episodes or downloaded movies.

The Windows Media Center is especially impressive, allowing users to turn their computer into a cable box and recording device. After the addition of a TV tuner, which ranges in price from $100 to $500, users can record shows without a subscription fee, watch live TV and surf the Internet from their couch, said Jay Pollock of PC Laptops.

"It's a really fancy DVR, and you can also do a whole lot more," he said. Plus, "they're fairly easy to install and you'll have everything in one place."

The higher-priced TV tuners provide the ability to record more channels at once and can also give better quality on high-definition shows. They come as either an external device that is easily plugged into a USB port or an internal tuner that is put into a computers motherboard, which Pollock recommended be done professionally.

AppleTV does not provide as many options, costs more than a basic TV tuner, and it does require that users have a relatively new TV set. But the big advantages are that it can sync with iTunes or iPhoto for downloads — allowing somebody to watch the shows or view pictures on any compatible TV, even if it's not connected to a computer network — and can be operated wirelessly.

A viewer can also access YouTube videos and anything they have downloaded to their computer, said John Youngberg, assistant branch manager for Simply.Mac in Fort Union. It's also very easy to set-up and use.