On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 14:33:15 +0800, "fondue" <me@wrk.au> wrote:

>
>"Vic Smith" <thismailautodeleted@comcast.net> wrote in message
>news:o3i4m2tdoa2p03sevn0dvod290sc4cbdb7@4ax.com.. .
>> On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 10:50:22 -0800, "William" <nospam@pacifier.com>
>> wrote:
>>>Anyway, I am going to enjoy watching my TV on my computer for Thanksgiving
>>>and work out this problem later.
>>>
>> Just curious about why you like a TV card.
>
>I have a separate capture card so have none of the conflicts you refer to.
>I make a point of watching what I record, after all that was what I recorded
>it for.
>
Do you listen to the TV and other computer audio such as that from net
video at once? Or if you are listening to a TV news program and
execute a Youtube video does the video take charge of sound?

>I have a two monitors, and usually watch programs at my PC. I hardly watch
>"live" television, and if I happen to catch one episode some series I want
>to watch, I can use the internet as my PVR ;-)
>
Sounds neat, but I've never heard of "internet as PVR." Can you
briefly explain that?

>If I find a myself web browsing, or doing something on the other screen
>while watching a program, then it means I am really not interested in the
>program, so I stop watching, and delete it. I find it quite a good method of
>choosing what I really want to watch/do.
>
Yes, I find that when I'm playing an intense part of a game my brain
turns off the TV sounds. If this is extended for a while I turn the
TV off at the first break. Sometimes I miss something I wanted to
watch because I am completely involved with the game. That's ok.
It is more usual though that when something comes on TV I'm interested
in, I stop gaming. I then continue web browsing or ng reading during
commercials.

>If a game is so uninvolving that I can listen/watch a program in a
>meaningful way, (unless it is freecell or something), then it's probably not
>worth playing, so I will move onto something else.
>
Well, some modern games can be played for months, full-time.
I just interrupt the game at the point where there is something on
TV that overrides the game according to my personal priorities.

>I don't have a PVR or set top box so I can record widescreen programs using
>the digital tuner, and at least see the full screen
>
Yes, that's nice.

>For the most part I tend to only download/record things I want to watch,
>rather than something which is vaguely interesting, because I know I will
>likely not watch it. IMHO the majority of commecial news services aren't
>worth watching/listening to becuase they are so shallow, so I'm more likely
>to get my news elsewhere.
>
I do watch many cable political programs despite the dreck. But often
also watch PBS, BBC, History Channel, etc.

>Your "downsides" sound like you made a bad choice of hardware for what you
>want to do, though I expect the VIVO features of the card sounded like good
>value for money at the time.
>
Yes, the VIVO was a selling point, but frankly I didn't foresee that I
wanted to play games like Far Cry while keeping the TV on and having
its background presence allow me to switch from one to the other.
But experience tells me that is what I want.
As to the hardware issue, I don't yet see anyone answering the issue
of multiple audio (we can listen to 2 streams at once), or the
resource issue of running a game like Far Cry while recording video,
though Rod's separate box solution covers that.
We each have different "needs" and I enjoy learning how others deal
with it. The 2 LCD solution would be an alternative for me, but given
my gaming habits I would need a separate computer such as Rod uses.
Since I find recording unnecessary, the less expensive TV works fine.
Of course I may have read all of this thread before I made my AIW
choice and gone ahead anyway and found it inadequate.
Experience was the best teacher in this case. But it doesn't hurt to
lay out that experience for others in case it's relevant to them.

--Vic