Most of us live our digital lives surrounded by three screens: the television, the personal computer and the mobile phone. The dividing lines between them are becoming blurred. We watch YouTube video clips on PCs, send text messages and e-mail on smartphones and monitor weather conditions and phone calls on internet-enabled TVs.

So when my youngest daughter came home from college and asked if she could have a TV in her bedroom, I looked at the alternatives and, in particular, at ways to watch TV on a PC.