What I got. What do I need?

[tireman]

I have been lurking for a week and I am sorry to say I am more confused that before I started.
What i got:
Dish TV satalite feed, Box has S-Video ( I think) and RCA Audio output as well as coax.
DVD player Panasonic -RV30 ( i have read the posts about what media it can read)
PC is AMD 1800, 512 MB, w/ an empty 15 GB 7200 rpm HD as secondary
VHS recorder

What I want to do:
Capture TV program
Burn to DVD-R

I think I want to capture to the HD, do whatever editing I need to do then burn the DVD-R from the HD. I would not want to go through the VHS unless I have to because of loss in quality.

OK
So what do I need to get to do what I want?
I think I need
Video capture card Prices run $45 to $500
Burner Prices run $150 - $300
About 40' or cable to connect TV box to PC
Capture & editing Software Price ?

I would like to stay under $300

Can this be done? If not what do I need to spend.

[SLICK RICK]

One thing that you definetly need that you did no mention is a bigger hard drive because that 15GB may not cut it.

For the DVD burner, look around you can find one out there for about $150. I have heard from many members here that they bought a $50 capture card and were very happy with the results. If you have any money left over, you really need to think about getting a bigger hard drive.

SLICK RICK

[housepig]

to make some really broad generalizations:

- the more money you throw at a capture card, the better quality you're going to get

- the more you break up your tasks between different applications, the more flexibility you are going to get.

If you spend the money to go direct to mpeg-2 with good quality, you will not have to spend money on encoders per se, it's already set to be authored on a dvd.

if you get a lower-quality capture card, for better quality you can capture as avi, encode to mpeg-2, and then author.

If you capture direct, though, you may find that you have a hard time editing an mpeg-2 file - they are not meant for editing, so you may have problems getting something to cut exactly, or maintaining audio sync.

I have a $40 capture card, I capture to avi, edit as avi, encode to mpeg-2 and author. I'm planning on getting a good ($250) mpeg-2 encoder box so I don't have to encode, as most of what I capture I don't need to edit out commercials or anything like that, and it will save me a ton of time on most of my projects.

It really depends on how much flexability you want, how fancy you want to get with menus, how high your patience level is, etc... you might be better served to wait for a sale and get a dedicated set-top dvd recorder.

[tireman]

Thanks for the fast replys.
Re 15 GB HD. My primary is a 60 and I thought that with an empty 15 I would be able to handle a couple of hours video with no problem.

RE Editing. While this isn't an absolute I thought i could at least clip the beginning and end to the actual show length. deleting the comercials would be a plus.

RE Good capture card. From the ratings looks like I may need to go Firewire and the ADVC100 at $250 + firewire card but this is more than I want to spend just for that part unless I have to.

I find the large range in user ratings confusing.

I understand the more money = better But i know from the old Hi-Fi days ( ya I am that old) the speakers were the weak link and I figured 50% of a system should be on speakers and the rest on the receiver, tape, turntable (know what that is?
So where can I find the good capture card in the $150 range.
Looking at all the ratings and the $ it looks like if I only spend $50 I won't be happy. So the next step appears to be the DataVideo- DAC100?


Will I be able to get better quality than with VHS recording I am getting now?

[SLICK RICK]

I have an ADVC 100 and it works great, but I have read that many people get really good results using the DAC 100 and it cost about $100 less. About the hard drive, like housepig said there are a few different ways of capturing video, capturing in avi will take up the alot of space on your hard drive.

SLICK RICK

[housepig]

Looking at all the ratings and the $ it looks like if I only spend $50 I won't be happy.

I wouldn't say that - what I would say is that if you spend $50 on a card, you may have to go to a bit more trouble to be happy.

I love my card. I can capture direct to mpeg-2 if I want, and do a quick and dirty. and my card is capable of some really nice captures as well.

but for me to get the quality I want, I have to forego capturing direct, and I have to capture as a lightly-compressed avi, then encode to mpeg after the fact to get the quality I want - my capture card doesn't have the muscle, and software mpeg-2 encoding on-the-fly leaves something to be desired for me, at least with the apps I've tried (NeoDVD, WinDVD, PowerVCR II).

so yes, you can get a $50 capture card and get nice captures with it, you may just have to jump through a few more hoops.

and as always, quality is completely subjective - what I see in my captures and what you see in yours may be totally different, you might get the same card I have and use NeoDVD and say "I don't know what he's talking about, this looks great"...

[andkiich]

I'd say a biger hard drive wouldn't hurt, but you could get by if you captured straight to MPEG2. Trying to capture uncompressed with a 15GB hard drive will not get you very far.

If you want a god, inexpensive capture card, then I'd look at the ATI All-In-Wonder RADEON cards.

I've got almost the exact same setup as you, except I'm running a 240GB RAID 0 HDD. I capture from DirecTV all the time with no issues.