I think this only gets the problem half correct. I do not really mind the idea of buying a television; I could save money for a couple of months and buy a decent one for a few hundred bucks. But to get any television that I want to watch, I would then have to commit to a cable or satellite contract of $30-$50/month. Within a year, I would have spent more on the service than the television, and I would have that recurring cost. When we look at the problem as being about the recurring cost and not the up-front cost, the USB-cable tuner is not going to do much for someone in my shoes. I would still need a cable contract.
There are a lot of workarounds. First, I could buy a Slingbox, attach it to my parents' box, and leech their cable. Large up-front cost but no recurring costs.
Second, and the one I use, is cobbling together Hulu and Netflix for my entertainment. I can get television-quality feeds through Hulu, and Netflix now has a decent amount of television programming I can watch streaming. Can't watch HBO though, but that's no problem since Netflix can just send me the DVDs. (I am on the $9 Netflix plan.) Unless you want to watch sports or an unhealthy, atrophing amount of television, this gets the job done.
Third, there are plenty of illegal sites where you can download or stream pretty much any tv show or movie.
Cable companies would, I believe, only temporarily hold onto subscribers if they had a box for your computer like you suggest. I believe the long-term trend is to get rid of cable companies altogether. Paying a subscription fee for television is increasingly becoming obsolete. In fact, even if I do buy a television (a luxury, not a necessity), I would go with AppleTV (or a similar product if it exists) and use my computer as my entertainment hub.
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