Which card?

[Nuwanda]

I'm looking to buy myself a decent TV Tuner card for regular captures now and then. While quality is an issue, it isnt necessarily the highest of priorities. What i'm looking for is something reasonably priced and one which will perform well enough at the same time. I'm a total newbie to capturing so any advice would be appreciated.
I'm thinking about getting any one of these : Compro VideoMate TV PVR or PixelView PlayTV@ P3000 (this one looks really neat!). I've also heard that Pinnacle's are pretty good too.

[mats.hogberg]

If you intend to author your captures to DVD, I suggest Hauppage PVR250 - It can capture in a format ready to author, and does the encoding in realtime without any CPU load (hardware encoding), leaving the computer free for its regular tasks, without risking frame drops & c. Together with some HTPC soft like GBPVR, it's super!

/Mats

[edDV]

If you intend to author your captures to DVD, I suggest Hauppage PVR250 - It can capture in a format ready to author, and does the encoding in realtime without any CPU load (hardware encoding), leaving the computer free for its regular tasks, without risking frame drops & c. Together with some HTPC soft like GBPVR, it's super!

/Mats

I agree this is the most trouble free path.

Basic tuner cards are ok for simple tasks but risk lipsync issues or framedrops for long captures.

The new round of USB2 cards are highly proprietary and are not widely supported by software. You get stuck with the manufacturer's application.

Next gen tuners like the ATI 550 are still full of problems and lack adequate software support.

A standalone DVD recorder is a very viable alternative.

[Nuwanda]

I cant really get my hands on a Hauppage coz there arent any here. I might stick to a PCI card since my requirements arent that great so i can afford to leave the computer to just record while i need capturing. That way all resources can be dedicated to the card.

I've been looking around for a bit and found the Compro VideoMate Gold II : http://www.comprousa.com/New/en/product/vmtvm505.html. The features seem really good and at 3GB/hr (in DVD quality), i think thats really good. Any idea on how well this card actually performs?

[SHS]

That not a Hardware Encoder it base on Soft Encoding Nuwanda and far I know of Compro dosen't have any Hardware card there all base on Soft which are Philips AVI Video Decoder.
I think in India you need a PAL B or possable a B/G Model will work.
Maybe this help on where to buy http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/buy_ap.htm
Your next best option is an ATI 550 base card
If have list of TV card manufacturer that you can get that go a long becuases there are min other card that are hardware base encoder you just have know what look for in most case they should say something a long the line of MPEG-2 Hardware Encoder on Product Introduction or Specifications.