Different Types Of TV Watching
From LinuxMCE
There are multiple way to watch TV.
PVR
Using digital receiver cards
Using one of the PVR software like MythTV or VDR, and having a supported TV receiver card, allows you to watch live TV using the a cable connected to the receiver card. The receiver card does the tuning to the channel, and receives EPG data.
Using a settop box
MythTV also supports the use of settop boxes for live TV.
AV Switching
Using AV input switching, a settop box is directly connected to the display, and both are controlled via IR or RS-232 connection from LinuxMCE.