I have recently purchased a new Dell Inspiron 530 with Vista Home Premium installed. I included in the spec a TV Tuner integrated hybrid (analogue/digital) in the belief (maybe naively) that connected to a suitable aerial I would be able to receive tv signals on the pc monitor. I have followed the somewhat limited connection instructions for the Media Centre and connected a satellite aerial to the pc. However when I run the Media Centre set-up it indicates that no signals are being received. I assume I must be missing some important steps or what I am trying to do is impossible.

I have searched the threads for similar problems but it appears I must be the only "thicko". Any help would be appreciated.

I don't think it's possible. The signals that are sent are specially coded so that only a special receiver can watch them. The only way to watch them is to somehow decode the signals. That is how subscription TV works. The other possibility is that there are no signals in your area.