I remember using this program in 2001:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;linux.die.net&#x2F;man&#x2F;1&#x2F;ttv" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;linux.die.net&#x2F;man&#x2F;1&#x2F;ttv</a><p>aalib + video4linux = TV tuner outputting as ASCII.<p>[Shockingly I actually used this for a useful purpose - I had a messed up graphics card that couldn&#x27;t run X stably due to machine lockups, but Linux console worked fine - so I used this to watch TV.  I was a teenager at the time so it was a while before I replaced it.]