Getting cable TV on my laptop - i.e. sans Internet?

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR

Is it possible /convenient / inexpensive to plug cable TV into a laptop so you can watch TV on it?

Long story short:

Sister has dial-up internet* on laptop, can't stream movies.
Wants receive network cable to her laptop (wired or wireless) so she can watch movies outside without dragging the TV along.

(I know it was once possible to buy a video card to slot into a desktop box that would do this, but this is a laptop).*for those unfamiliar with such a thing, ask your grandparents

 

[jedishrfu]

Is a DVD player out of the question?

 

[Vanadium 50]

SiliconDust made (maybe still makes) boxes that are TV tuners on one end and ethernet on the other. If plugging in is not acceptable, one could connect this to Wifi.

 

[DaveC426913]

Thanks, I'll forward these ideas to her.

 

[jedishrfu]

Is a DVD player out of the question?

This implies using DVDs though.

It might not be possible to view Blu-ray unless the player supports it. Of course an old computer may have issues with playing dvds from a dvd drive too due primarily to slowness in processing the video stream through the cpu.

 

[jtbell]

I’ve used the Elgato EyeTV USB dongle to receive over-the-air broadcasts from an antenna on my laptop and desktop computers. I think it also handles cable TV signals, at least the unscrambled or unencrypted ones.

 

[vela]

Dish provides an app that let's me access the DVR over the local network. On my iPad (and supposedly on my computer, though I've never tried it), I can watch recorded shows or use the DVR as a tuner. Does her cable TV company offer something similar?

 

[DaveC426913]

:sigh: I forgot who my sister is.

She doesn't have cable either.

So, what she's going to want is an antenna/converter dongle.

Or she can drag her DVD player outside. (I think she was hoping to leave the DVD player inside, and route it to her lappie).

 

[DaveC426913]

I’ve used the Elgato EyeTV USB dongle to receive over-the-air broadcasts from an antenna on my laptop

Yeah. This.

Now, since this is my sister, it has to cost < 12 cents.

(Did I forget to mention that extra criteria? Welcome to my sister's world.)

 

[Tom.G]

"Stranger In A Strange Land" anyone?

(a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein.)

 

[willielandon Refere]

Summary: Is it possible /convenient / inexpensive to plug cable TV into a laptop so you can watch TV on it?

Long story short:

Sister has dial-up internet* on laptop, can't stream movies.
Wants receive network cable to her laptop (wired or wireless) so she can watch movies outside without dragging the TV along.

(I know it was once possible to buy a video card to slot into a desktop box that would do this, but this is a laptop).*for those unfamiliar with such a thing, ask your grandparents

informative trick i learn from your post grate thanks

 

[Klystron]

:sigh: I forgot who my sister is. [snip]

"Stranger In A Strange Land" anyone?

(a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein.)

Wait. DaveC42...'s sister was raised on Mars? I grok.
(You have to read the novel )

 

[OCR]

Wait. DaveC42...'s sister was raised on Mars?

Lol. . . I wonder if she's ever met Linda ? .

.