Questions about tv tuner and time machine

[Freecity88]

Is it a good idea to hook up a tv tuner and watch TV (HDTV) on iMac?
Can anyone recommend a tv tuner for me?
I have a 500GB external hard drive. I am planning to use it as a time machine. Can I do this without hurting my existing files?
Thanks for your help!

 

[xUKHCx]

Yes it is a good idea.
Elgato is good, pick the one that is suitable.
Yes you can use it without hurting your existing files.

 

[superleccy]

The Elgato stuff is streets ahead of any TV hardware/software for the Mac or any other platform. I love it. Just pick the right Elgato box/stick that is right for you. Dunno if any of them support HDTV yet though.

If you are going to use your 500Gb hard disk for Time Machine and other stuff, then the way I would do it would be to create to partitions on the disk. One for time machine, one for the other stuff.

SL