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Elliander · April 26th, 2008

I have been looking for something specific, but could never find it on any search...

I have a PCI TV-Card, which came with "Hauppauge WinTV" software which is nice for just watching television, but doesn't have the best compatibility with consoles or even a VCR.

I called them up, and asked them about it, and they basically said that the reason it doesn't work well with consoles is because it actually displays content a few seconds after it enters the computer, and produces some kind of MPEG streaming.

My thought is this: A computer is much more powerful than a television set.

If someone simply tried to emulate a television, so that within the software it all behaves like a Television Set. Where everything that goes into a TV card is displayed in real time, without trying to make it do anything that a TV doesn't do, then it would be possible to play a console game as if it was on a television.

I would also imagine that it would be possible to have a Plugin "pretend" to be a physical VCR with Virtual VHS tapes, so that it could record television and movies to file in real time, if people wanted a little extra.

In addition, current Software limits usage. In addition to needing to process the picture, the TV card can't split a signal so you could watch one channel while recording another. But if it was simply an emulated TV, I would imagine, a TV splitter could also be emulated.

But as far as I can see, the Industry as a whole has ignored the demand to use TV Cards as if it was a TV.

So in short, I'd like to ask if anyone is working on anything like this, or if not, as a conception, if it sounds like it would work?

April 26th, 2008	#1 (permalink)
Elliander Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: USA Posts: 14	TV Emulator? I have been looking for something specific, but could never find it on any search... I have a PCI TV-Card, which came with "Hauppauge WinTV" software which is nice for just watching television, but doesn't have the best compatibility with consoles or even a VCR. I called them up, and asked them about it, and they basically said that the reason it doesn't work well with consoles is because it actually displays content a few seconds after it enters the computer, and produces some kind of MPEG streaming. My thought is this: A computer is much more powerful than a television set. If someone simply tried to emulate a television, so that within the software it all behaves like a Television Set. Where everything that goes into a TV card is displayed in real time, without trying to make it do anything that a TV doesn't do, then it would be possible to play a console game as if it was on a television. I would also imagine that it would be possible to have a Plugin "pretend" to be a physical VCR with Virtual VHS tapes, so that it could record television and movies to file in real time, if people wanted a little extra. In addition, current Software limits usage. In addition to needing to process the picture, the TV card can't split a signal so you could watch one channel while recording another. But if it was simply an emulated TV, I would imagine, a TV splitter could also be emulated. But as far as I can see, the Industry as a whole has ignored the demand to use TV Cards as if it was a TV. So in short, I'd like to ask if anyone is working on anything like this, or if not, as a conception, if it sounds like it would work?