Windows 98 Installation & Configuration Handbook

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- 17 -

Configuring PC TV Devices


by Dean Andrews

Installing TV Viewer to Work with Windows 98

Windows 98 adds a brand new component called WebTV for Windows to the Windows operating system. It allows you to view both standard and interactive television broadcasts over your computer. You can also browse television program listings, which get regularly updated over the Internet.

Before you enable this feature, you should purchase and install a TV tuner card, if you don't already have one installed. TV tuner cards are hardware boards that fit into an ISA or PCI slot in your PC. These boards receive TV broadcast signals either through a standard antenna or via a cable television service cable that you attach to the back of the card. TV tuners range in price from around $50 to $100 and are manufactured by several different companies including the video board makers Matrox and ATI Technologies.

If you don't own and aren't planning to buy a TV tuner card, you can still use the free TV listings in the WebTV Program Guide to view the schedule for upcoming television broadcasts and cable channel programming.


CAUTION: Be aware that some TV tuner cards work only in conjunction with video boards from the same manufacturer. For example, the Rainbow Runner Television board from Matrox functions only when used with the Mystique 220 and Rainbow Runner Studio daughter card that Matrox manufactures.

In other cases, you may need to update the drivers for your video board to support the viewing of TV broadcasts. If you have difficulty getting a TV tuner card to work properly, check the Web site of your video card manufacturer for the latest drivers.


Use the following steps to install the WebTV for Windows component of Windows 98:

1. Open the Start menu and choose Settings, Control Panel.

2.
Choose the Add/Remove Programs object. Then select the Windows Setup tab.

3.
Scroll down until you see the WebTV for Windows entry in the Components list. Then put a check in the box next to WebTV for Windows (see Figure 17.1).

4.
Click OK to install the WebTV for Windows component.


NOTE: Windows 98 refers to a TV tuner board as a TV Data Adapter in the dialog boxes during installation.

Windows 98 needs to restart Windows to complete the WebTV component installation process, so click Yes when asked whether you want to restart. In the next boot cycle, Windows automatically finds your TV tuner card and installs drivers for it, if you have one installed. Then Windows needs to restart one more time to complete the installation of this new hardware.

FIG. 17.1 Put a check next to the WebTV for Windows component.

Configuring TV Viewer

After WebTV is loaded, you need to download the latest program listings and customize the viewer to your personal preferences. To launch WebTV, open the Start menu and choose, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, WebTV for Windows. Alternatively, you can choose the little TV icon in the system tray of the Windows taskbar.

The first time you launch WebTV, you see a Welcome screen explaining its features. Move through the overview of WebTV features by clicking the Next button. At the end of the overview tour, you see a Finish button. Click this button to see the main program listings screen.

Retrieving Program Listings

WebTV originally loads with default program listings. To update this list, you need an active connection to the Internet because the program data is retrieved via the Web.

To retrieve WebTV's program listings from the Internet, use the following procedure:

1. Choose the TV Configuration channel from the list of channels (see Figure17.2).

2.
Click the Watch button on the remote control at the right side of the window.

3.
Choose the Guide Plus+ link in the TV Configuration menu. Windows then connects you to the Internet using Internet Explorer 4.0 and automatically browses the Program Listing site of Starsight Telecast, Inc.

4.
Enter your five-digit zip code in the appropriate box by pressing the numeric keys on your keyboard.

5.
After you've typed your zip code, another box pops up with the message Select your cable provider or broadcast region pops up. If you have a cable television hook-up that you can connect to your computer, select your cable service provider from the list. Otherwise, choose BROADCAST (see Figure 17.3)

FIG. 17.2 Choose the TV Configuration channel.

FIG. 17.3 If you have cable TV, choose your service provider; otherwise, choose BROADCAST.

6. When you see the TV Program Listing Data Downloader box, choose Download to begin receiving the program listing information (see Figure 17.4)

FIG. 17.4 Choose Download to begin downloading the program listings.

7. The process of downloading the program listings may take several minutes. When the process is complete, you see the message Success! Loader has completed in the Status window of the TV Program Listing Data Downloader box. At this point, you can close the Internet Explorer window by choosing File, Close.

Back in the Program Guide screen of WebTV, you then find an updated list of TV programming in your area. Each download brings you two days' worth of local TV scheduling.

Searching for Channels

In case you want to find a particular show or type of show, but don't know where to find it, WebTV provides two ways to search through the television channels. You can either browse the listings by category or by title.

To search the channels by category, use the following procedure:

1. In WebTV, choose the Search tab to display the search window (see Figure 17.5)

2.
Scroll the list of TV show categories (Action, Comedy, Movies, and so on) on the far left of the window.

3.
Choose a category to display a list of shows.

To search the channels by title, use the following procedure:

1. In WebTV, choose the Search tab to display the search window.

2.
On the lower left of the search window, enter the keyword(s) for which you want to search into the Search For box (see Figure 17.6)

FIG. 17.5 Choose the Search tab to display WebTV's search window.

FIG. 17.6 Enter your keywords in the Search For box.

3. Choose the Search button below the Search For box to display a list of shows matching your keyword(s).

You can also modify the search list by using the Sort by time and All days drop-down boxes at the top of the Search window. These boxes let you sort the list of shows by date and title, as well as, narrow down the number of days you want to search through.

Changing WebTV Options

You can adjust the list of channels that the Program Guide displays by modifying the Settings options of WebTV. The Settings options let you select all the channels in your area or just the ones that you are interested in watching. In Settings, you can also pick whether WebTV should show you which shows have closed captioning.

To adjust the settings for WebTV's Program Guide, use the following procedure:

1. In WebTV's Program Guide, press the Alt key on your keyboard (or move your mouse cursor up to the top of the window) to display the Program Guide toolbar (see Figure 17.7).

FIG. 17.7 Press the Alt key to display the Program Guide toolbar, or just move your mouse cursor to the top of the window.

2. Choose the Settings button on the toolbar to display the Settings dialog box (see Figure 17.8)

3.
Put a check next to the channels you want displayed in the Program Guide, or choose Show all to display the entire list. Put a check next to Show closed captioning if you want closed caption information displayed in the summary of shows.

4.
Click OK to close the Settings dialog box.

FIG. 17.8 Choose the Settings button on the toolbar to display the Settings dialog box.


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