Hey guys...I was chatting with wife last evening and she asked if I could just do the following to get a high def tv in the bathroom. I wasn't sure, but didn't think so:

We have HD digital cable tv outlet and 26" LCD monitor that is typically used as a PC monitor with DVI/VGA inputs.

Q. Is there a HDTV tuner device that has a CATV input on one end and some way to connect directly to the PC type monitor?

I saw one by ATI ($59) that has CATV input, claims to be HDTV tuner, but outputs to USB. In this case I would need a PC to plug into, then output to the monitor from the DVI or VGA video card. BUT...I want to eliminate the PC box altogether and just go directly to the monitor.

If such a device doesn't exist, then I'll just have to go out and get a flatscreen TV in the standard setup.

I figured this would be the best place to find out.

Some full HD OTA tuner STBs have a VGA output that might work with some monitors. You also need an antenna for the STB.

Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking something small similar to
http://lunapark6.com/usb-hdtv-tuner-stick-for-windows-linux-hauppauge-wintv-hvr-950.html

...but instead of the usb port, it would have maybe a dvi or vga output on the back end.

Essentially, I was hoping to eliminate any large box device or the need for the PC from the chain.

The reason digital TV tuners for the PC are so small is that all they're doing is selecting a channel and digitizing the signal from it. Decoding the program, which is natively an MPEG stream (even unscrambled cable or over-the-air), is done by the computer and/or video card. So no, even if you could find a receiver with VGA outputs, it wouldn't be a small inconspicuous device.

MPEG2 can be done in chips now (for at least the last 6-7 years - probably longer) - I've got an old MPEG2 decoder PCI board that came with a PC when PII 300 MHz were hot machines.

The reason digital TV tuners for the PC are so small is that all they're doing is selecting a channel and digitizing the signal from it. Decoding the program, which is natively an MPEG stream (even unscrambled cable or over-the-air), is done by the computer and/or video card. So no, even if you could find a receiver with VGA outputs, it wouldn't be a small inconspicuous device.

Thats true the newer small video tuner devices with a USB port are actually using a lot of the PC's hardware (CPU, memory, etc) for most of the decoding. With only a monitor you need the rest of the "guts" of the HD tuner, hence a full size STB tuner box is required. Same with say a VCR tuner. A simple monitor like a TV needs all the "guts" in the tuner box. No way around that. Either add a full size tuner or a computer to the monitor. :)

agcccchk!

A few years off I guess :)

Okay, here's a question: How small do you think a device like this would need to be if it could be stripped down to the bare bones necessary components only? Possibly the size of a typical tv remote control?

agcccchk!

A few years off I guess :)

Okay, here's a question: How small do you think a device like this would need to be if it could be stripped down to the bare bones necessary components only? Possibly the size of a typical tv remote control?

Not for a long time, its quite complex. Currently its the size of a DVD player.