Personal Computer Secrets

HDTV Tuner Cards

Some newer TV tuner cards support the high resolution of HDTV signals, but most TV tuners for PCs still only work with the traditional standard definition NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) signal. If you want an HDTV-capable tuner, you need to specifically look for it.

Also note that a tuner that claims it supports DTV, or digital television, is not the same thing as HDTV (High Definition Television). Digital television signals that offer 480 lines of resolution are known as SDTV (Standard Definition Television). Only signals with more than 480 lines--such as 720 or 1,080--are considered HDTV.

To view these types of signals on your computer, you'll need a monitor capable of supporting HDTV's higher resolutions--typically 1,920 x 1,080 or 1,920 x 1,200. If your video card and monitor do support this capability, then an HDTV tuner card for your PC is a good way to view the new high-quality signals without having to invest in an expensive HDTV-capable set or HDTV set-top decoder box (both of which usually cost significantly more money than a PC plug-in card). In fact, there are even some products available that will let you pass along the decoded HDTV signal from a PC's HDTV tuner card straight to your standard TV. Although this won't give you as high a quality picture as a true HDTV set, it should be much better than normal TV signals.

HDTV Resolutions

Some of the new HDTV formats--there are 18 different ones--operate in a non-interlaced, or progressive, mode like computer monitors, whereas others are still interlaced, like traditional TV signals. The progressive-format standards are denoted with a "p" after their name, whereas the interlaced standards have an "i". So, for example, 480p is 480 lines of horizontal resolution in progressive format and 1,080i is 1,080 lines of horizontal resolution in interlaced format. Standard TV signals are equivalent to 480i.

Chapter 12: Building a Home or Small Business Network

Automatic Log-on

If your PC is connected to a home or small business network or if you have a single computer with a dedicated connection to the Internet--such as with a cable or DSL modem--you'll find that you can't avoid having to type in a Windows password when your computer first boots. The reason is Windows requires a password when you're connected to a network (and Windows see the "always-on" connection of DSL and cable modems as equivalent to a network). You can get around having to type a password in every time you boot your system by having the TweakUI control panel automatically do it for you.

In order for this Tip to work, you'll need to have installed the TweakUI control panel. Windows 95 users can download a version of TweakUI for them from Microsoft's web site (it's part of the free PowerToys utility package), or by just clicking here. Windows 98 users have the Windows 98-specific version available on the Windows 98 CD (you can find it and install it from the \tools\reskit\powertoy folder on the CD). Once either version is installed, switch over to the Network tab, fill in your User name and Password and simply put a check mark in the box that says, "Log on automatically at system startup." See Figure 1.

Fig. 1 Automated Log-on
By using the TweakUI Control Panel, you can automate the log-on process if your Windows 95 or 98-based PC is attached to a network or an always-on Internet connection, such as through a DSL or cable modem.

Now, every time your systems turns on, it will automatically log on, which is a handy convenience. Note that while this is typically fine in a home environment, it represents a security risk in a work environment because anyone who turns your machine on can get access to its contents.

Chapter 17: Troubleshooting Techniques

Registry Checker

As discussed on pages 739-740 of Chapter 17, the DOS-based ScanReg utility is an excellent tool for fixing many Registry-related in Windows 98. One additional feature of ScanReg that you should try if you're having problems getting your system to start up properly is to boot to a DOS prompt with a Windows 98 boot disk and then type in:

scanreg /fix

The "fix" switch at the end of the command tells ScanReg to automatically fix any problems it finds in the Registry.