I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times, but...

[acid512]

I am fairly experianced with digital video in the sense of ripping, encoding and most other things, but have not ever captured any video.

I have a heap load of hard drive space (about 110GB free), and an altogether fast machine (click button above to check if you like).

I would like to capture video from TV/digital satalite, and intend to buy a dvd burner in the future, so mpeg2 quality or better would be ideal.

I am guessing that i dont need a card that hard encodes to mpeg2, as my pc is quite fast (plus these kinda cards cost a bucket dont they?), but i dont want to buy something that will drop frames all over the place.

I really have no idea what to get, so any input would be appreciated.
As i am saving for a pioneer 105 DVD burner, i dont wont to spend over 100 pounds, if thats possible.

Cheers

[alenhard]

I would suggest that you check out the ratings in the capture card section. You can probably get a decent idea of what is available and how good the quality is of each device.

I absolutely recommend any Canopus product. I've had the Canopus ADVC 100 for several months and it has been a flawless product. Good luck!

[LetsRip]

If your like me, you'll find that most users are successful using a DV capture method rather than a separate analog video & audio capturing method -- A LOT more frustration from users have been posted per the 2nd option (lost frames, audio issues, syncing, etc). Thus, use the mentioned Canopus or similar analog-to-digital hardware solution to bring in the DV data via Firewire (stay away from USB), and then manipulate from there using software solution before burning to CD-DVD.

Just my two cents...

- Eric