PC help: TV for notebooks

Q I have a Sony Vaio PCV-W2, which I use as a second television in a bedroom thanks to a built-in TV tuner.

It is getting old and needs replacing. I have had some difficulty in tracking down a notebook that has a TV tuner built in.

Chris Ryder

A Although notebooks with built-in TV tuners are fairly few and far between, adding a USB TV tuner is relatively simple.

If the new notebook is supplied with either Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, software for watching, pausing and recording television will be installed already.

The Terratec Piranha TV tuner costs £64 and can receive digital radio as well as Freeview television. You can read the review here.

Like many USB TV tuners, it’s fully compatible with Windows Media Center, so you can schedule recordings using its excellent interface if you have it.

Although it is very good, there are alternatives to Windows Media Center, including Mediaportal, an open- source program that’s free to use. A list of compatible TV tuners can be found here.

As with ordinary televisions, don’t rely on the small 6in aerial supplied with these tuners for a good picture. A connection to an aerial on the roof is the only way of ensuring good reception. Always make sure that the TV tuner has an adapter for a standard aerial socket.