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Old 6-Jul-2011, 5:25 AM   #20
GroundUrMast
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
It sounds like you can connect your laptop to your TV with just a Dell adapter and an HDMI cable. Then you can view Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, etc. via the browser (IE, Firefox, etc.) on your TV. Without a tuner the laptop would not have DVR/PVR capability.

If I were in your situation, I would start by connecting the existing TV to the new OTA antenna. Take a look at the quality and stability of the channels received, then decide if you really need (or want) additional channels or functionality that would require more equipment.

If your TV has a built-in digital tuner capable of 1080i resolution, an external tuner is not going to offer a better picture. I find 'everything on one remote' far more user friendly than multiple remotes.

The reason I have chosen to purchase network attached tuners does not apply to everyone, I certainly am not trying to sell a particular solution or product as 'one size fits all'. Someone who is uncomfortable with laptops, PCs, Ethernet switches and related systems and software may find the network attached tuner more difficult to setup and use. The Channel Master and Western Digital products may be a better fit for some. I would recommend that you take advantage of the reviews of the various products at Amazon... you will usually find a wide range of tech savvy and ability represented by the population of reviewers. It's often fairly obvious that some products are aimed at a highly skilled or less skilled consumer.

You can rate yourself better than I can.
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If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 6-Jul-2011 at 5:54 AM.
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