Variety of tuners can bring TV programs to your laptop

Q: How can I watch TV on my laptop, supposing I have cable or satellite?

A: The most convenient solution is to use a TV tuner, such as the WinTV-USB2 family of products from Hauppage. Plug the tuner into your computer's USB port, and plug an antenna or cable box into the tuner.

Tuners typically include software and a remote control. Some have personal video recorder functions so you can record shows to your computer.

The many different versions of WinTV include a variety of features and can be found from about $60 to $150.

For Mac users, there is Elgato's EyeTV line of tuners. The hybrid version sells for $150 on the manufacturer's site. Hybrid here means that the device can pick up analog and digital TV signals.

If you want to watch specific shows on your computer, this page on Microsoft's site explains how to bring TV shows from a Media Center PC to a laptop by burning them to a DVD or copying them to the computer's hard drive: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/laptoptv.mspx.

Check out hdtvtunerinfo.com to learn more about how to use an HDTV tuner with a computer. Also, laptopmag.com has five tips about using a laptop to watch TV on your schedule: ocregister.com/glink/pctvtips.

Q: I live in a condo of 1,025 square feet. The only TV is in the living room with Time Warner Cable. I want to hear the programs on TV in my office without turning up the volume real loud. There is the kitchen between the TV and the office of two walls. Is there a listening device that I can wear to hear it while I work on the computer in the office? If so, cost is not as much a problem as space. Please let me know what is available and where I can get it. — Joy Taylor

A: Joy, it sounds like you are looking for wireless headphones. One example is Acoustic Research's wireless stereo headphones. These, for $50.99, lock in a frequency that allows you to hear programs clearly up to 150 feet away from the signal's source.

If you're looking to see and watch the TV from another room, look into getting a system that transmits audio and/or video from one source, such as a TV, to another source, such as a PC or other type of receiver.

These require that you buy a device to send the signal from your TV and a receiver (a TV or some other device) to display the signal.

Here are two companies that offer these types of solutions: TERK has the Leapfrog wireless system. It includes devices that plug into your TV, computer or other device, sending its information wirelessly to a receiver in another room.

TERK's LF30S (receiving four and a half stars out of five in Amazon's customer reviews) will transmit audio and video from one room to another, through walls and floors, up to 150 feet away. It works with TVs, receivers, DVD players and most other audio/visual components.

Also, TERK provides accessories for controlling devices from other rooms, so a remote in your office could control your TV in another room, despite walls and floors.

RF-Link also has several choices, including the AVS-5811 (receiving four stars out of five in Amazon's customer reviews), that send audio and video from a TV or other device to another TV or monitor.