Is 2007 the year computers and TVs finally merge?

This new technology is really helping to create:

A Future to Behold
Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/future3.mp3

In 1994 I told a broadcast engineer who worked with me that "someday your phone, TV, and computer will all be the same animal". He responded by saying, "Not in our lifetime". Now I cary one in my pocket and it's only 12 years later. Not to mention, that our city is now being wired with fibre optics and Verizon will not only provide telephone and internet service, but will begin offering television services this spring. So get over it Rich. Life will happen whether you ride with us or not.

What I'm about to say has pretty much been pointed out: A lot of people have already merged computers and TVs by way of a TV tuner video card with PVR software (many available, PCI and USB and even cardbus; lots of freeware PVR software that's better than what's included)

There are also Slingboxes etc available.

You don't even need a Media Center PC to use any of these things...it's nice to keep all your media stuff under one program, but I have XP Pro on my desktop and everything works just fine on there too.

I think we're already there. We are at my house, anyway, and I'm not a total computer geek. I have Windows Media Center TV/PC . I can watch live television on my computer, record my favorite shows using the built-in pvr(personal video recorder) and watch later on the screen , or burn the recorded shows to dvd . Last week I discovered a Roxio program "MyTVtoGO" which allows me to take anything I've copied with the pvr, covert it to mp4 and upload it to my video ipod.

I've been using my computer and TV together for years, I'm doing it now. I have a Video card with a tuner. and watch TV while I'm on the computer. So whats the big deal?

My wife and I have a media center pc and we have been watching the majority of our tv on our computer for the last 2.5 years. It couldn't be simpler. Free DVR service, extremely user-friendly setup... you can't beat it! And with MC 2005, you can even burn your shows to Dvd. We are running an older version of MC, but I found a way to reformat my shows using Power Producer. So now I can have all of my favorite shows on DVD or my Insignia mp3 player (another great buy that I would recommend over Ipod). I love it! I am not very computer savvy at all, and my wife is even worse, so we would highly recommend a Media Center PC with DVR to anyone who is interested in combining their tv and computer without alot of fuss.

It is amazing to me that the News Media has held back the fact that a simple S-Video cable can be connected between your laptop computer and your plasma tv. I'm creating video content on our community web site related to our own reality show, commercials for restaurants and businesses, how-to seminars, etc. We hope that more people would play the longer content on their tv instead on their laptop/pc. So, keep learning about the new and exciting things still happening on the Web.

We had Web TV years ago. Isn't that what you're all talking about? We would rather have the two separate.

If you have pictrue in picture Webtv/now MSNTV has been around for years its only problem is no java script or video play it will play mpegs but not video but you can serf the internet and send emails and instant message when they fiure how to add java and media play to this you have total web and tv together but with direct tv dish or time warner how fast it will run who knows. I have webtv/and a laptop they both serve differnt purposes

Just adding my two cents.......my younger brother regularly watches tv on his computer and also uses the tv as his computer screen. I have no idea how he does it but I've seen both so I also know it's possible now.