Confession of a TV addict
By Rom Feria
I am a bonafide TV addict. When I was a student, I studied while in front of the television set. I really do not know how on earth I managed to do it but I guess I was more attuned to the kids of today - multi-taskers! Now that I am a parent I make it a point not to allow my kids to study in front of the TV (and no, they have not reached the iPod age yet - when they have earphones glued to their ears!) and I wondered why I did it in the first place. Maybe it was used to drowning noise around me while studying or maybe there's another reason, but hey! I survived! I managed to pass all my subjects in UP without a single grade of 5!
Now that you know that I am a TV addict and that I continue to be one, it’s a wonder how I can manage to keep abreast with new TV shows such as Kyle XY, Vanished, Blade, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, etc. First of all, having tv.com as your source of information can make you a TV guru already. This is where I get my info about the new shows, checking out episode guides, summaries, critiques, etc. I am sure that all TV addicts out there visit this site at least once a day.
You'd wonder how do I manage to watch some of these new shows whilst they are not yet available locally. Apple's iTunes Music Store is my prime source. Although it sets me back USD1.99 per episode, it is well worth it!
I just finished the entire first season of Kyle XY, two seasons of Battlestar Galactica (can't wait for the next one), two seasons of The Office, the final 6 episodes of Alias, the pre-air pilot episode of Aquaman, season 1 of Conviction, season 1 of Nightstalker, season 1 of Surface and my favorite, season 1 of The A-Team! Yeah, I managed to buy all of these off of the iTunes Music store. Do not ask me how much I spent but for me, it is well worth it (I don't care if it is not DVD quality so do not argue me with on this point! hehehe). Right now, I am keeping tabs on Eureka and Psych, while waiting for the new season of my favorite shows.
In addition to those available from iTunes, I managed to snag a little gadget called Miglia TV Micro. It is a TV tuner that connects to your Mac via the USB 2.0 port. It comes with a remote and connects to your TV aerial antenna or your cable connection.
With the TV Micro, I have my own Tivo-like setup at home. I can watch any show available from my cable TV provider and can even record it anytime. Mind you, recording is purely for personal viewing and not for distribution and I honestly think that I am not violating any laws here since I am basically doing what people have been doing before with their Betamax (of old) and VCRs. Since DVD-recording appliances are still expensive (around the 40K mark), my solution is so far the cheapest and most portable.
The setup is simple - just install the EyeTV software that comes with the device and configure it depending on whether you are using the TV aerial antenna or your cable tv connection. After which, you connect the device and let it auto-tune the channels. Unfortunately, electronic program guides (EPGs) are not available for our local cable tv channels but if you are living in Europe, Japan or the US, you can sync it with your favorite EPG and get information about the shows online! I wonder if the digital cable tv subscriptions from local providers provide EPGs. Hmmm...
With this setup, I can now watch TV on a screen/window right beside my favorite web browser, Flock, whilst iChat-ting with friends and answering email! Writing my papers, though, is difficult while watching TV. hehehe...
For Linux, there are LinuxPVR solutions available which are based on MythTV, a Tivo-like setup. You need a PC-only TV tuner, which are available locally. I have not tried this out but will see if I can find a cheap TV tuner that is supported by Linux.
This is all for now. Check out a mirror site of the Of Macs and Tux articles at http://macntux.vox.com - articles there are a week or so late. My blog is at http://rom.feria.name/blog if you want to read my daily ramblings. Cya!
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