WinTV Nova and other digital tv cards

[CoCoNiPs]

Do these cards that can receive free to air digital broadcasts in the UK capture the video directly as its broadcast or does it involve any recompression?
What I mean is does it simply save to your hardrive the mpeg 2 stream exactly as its broadcast?
If so what kind of data rate are they broadcast at?
How much space would a half hour show or a 2 hour movie take if captured this way?

The hauppauge site isnt very clear on exactly what these cards do hence my question
thanx ahead

[Emanef]

The Nova and Nexus both receive files in their actual broadcast mpeg format. I believe the Nova allows you to receives all FTA terestial channels from a [high gain] TV aerial, like BBC1, 2, Choice, Four, ITV2, etc. The Nexus allows you to capture FTA from a satellite dish; you can also get a CAM to allow pay channels, but I don't think it'll work with your Sky card (though correct me if I'm wrong....!)

The Nova doesn't have a CAM, so I don;t think it could get the pay TV channels from ITV Dig prior to it going bust (though apparently it found the channels on setup, so there may have been a crack).

I'd avoid the USB model though.....can't imagine it being able to move enough info across.

Have a look at http://www.hauppauge.co.uk/html/digitaltv_prod.htm[url] for more info.

If you're looking for a TV card just for these channels and to use as a PVR, this card would by far be the best.....