Looking for a new capture card/tV tuner.

[Calico]

I have been using Studio Delux for about 2 years now but in a drunken stupor I stepped on the blue capture box and crushed it. Pinnacle told me today that I had to purchase a new package because they do not have any replacement parts for it anymore.

I do not want to spend alot of money on a new package. I basically make DVDs of college and pro football games along with other TV shows for my own archives.

What is the best way for me to go? I have digital cable with a DVR box and I use RCA and S-video connections to capture my video. Is there good capture card for these formats that does not require me to spend $200 on a card and software?

Is a TV tuner a better route for me to explore?

Also, I have noticed that other people make DVDs of the same stuff that I do but their video looks alot crisper than mine and they can fit alot more of the video onto a DVD than I can. Is there an alternate encoding route to take.

I always captured in AVI and then converted to Mpeg2 and then authored and burned the DVDs with Nero. Is there a better way to go about the burn process? Thanks.

[The-K-Man]

Hi,

I can't give you an expert opinion on what route to take, if you want to
review TV Cards I would check out this site.

http://www.tv-cards.com/reviews.php

Once again I can't give you expert advice but everyone seems to be
using Div-X, trying it out just now. Having a few problems but the quality
is good and the size is small. It's quite cheap as well.

I'm using DVDSanta for encoding and burning files and I've got to say
it really good. Highly recommend you give it a try.