Hardware Smart TV or HTPC for TV Service Provider?

lamentofking

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Hello all,

I've been recently looking into watching tv on your pc. When I discovered Fios had the "Fios tv anywhere" app for ios and android I tried it out and it was okay but you have to be connected to the Fios home network to really get the best out if it. I'm staying in a residence hall at my university for the summer and I'm not too pleased with the channel lineup they provide. I was going to just start my own subscription but my University uses Cox as a service provider for all of the residence halls so I couldn't just get my room set up differently. The channel that I really want to view is TeenNick. I found out about CableCards and to my understanding I can have a channel subscription on the card without a set top box correct? Okay so now I'm wondering if an HTPC with a TV Tuner and CableCard setup or a Smart TV with CableCard Slot or with a TV Tuner (those exist right? I think I saw one before) would be better for this. I know the answer depends on what the user wants so....

I typically like to leave the TV on just about all day when I am at home. Now that I'm in my dorm room I'm typically out and about a good chunk of the day (due to attending class) but I do like to sleep with the tv on. I currently just use my laptop and hdmi cable to my tv and will watch whatever I can find online. I set my computer to go to sleep at a certain hour and then my tv will automatically turn off after a period of inactivity. So I suppose my choice will depend on whether or not a Smart TV with a cablecard/TV Tuner or a HTPC with TV Tuner and CableCard would be more suited to leave running for long periods of time. I'm not worried about doing much on the computer other than watching tv because I wouldn't want it to slow down due to me using it for other features as well. I believe the most I would do with either device outside of tv is record shows and possibly use dvr features like pausing and rewinding live tv. So which one is more suitable? And also would I be limited to using just Cox at my school since the school is wired for Cox or can I use any service provider available in my area? I was asking because I have a feeling that I have to have a coax cable connected to the cablecard so the other end would go into the coax outlet which is set for Cox right now. There isn't a STB (if there is it isn't provided to us. Might be located in a central office or something).
 

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