total newbie in the video capturing world.. plz help

[amdworld]

Hey, i need to DIRECTLY get tv shows FROM THE TV CABLE .
so.. how do i do this?
like.. i have the TV right? do i have to connect the coaxil cable from the TV to the VCR, and then the vcr to some device, and then that device to my comp?

if so, what options do i have?
i looked at the Canopus ADVC-100 and the ADS IDVD 2.0 hardwares.
which one is better?
i need a hardware that INCLUDES THE PROGRAM THAT CAN CAPTURE, and also that can edit it directly.
also, i need a program that allows me to time and sechudle the time and day when the device starts. finally.. i need a hardware that can directly allow me to choose MPEG2, MPEG1, VCD (maybe avi divx) before i start. in other words, i can record a show.. and when the recording is done, the end result is the video format i chose.
if u think some other hardware other than the Canopus and ADS can do all this and is also bettter than the canopus or ADS, plz tell me so.
and if it is not possible to do all this, what hardware is closest to it?
(Accept FIREWIRE or USB 2.0 connection) no Pci's or Agp's

thx

[amdworld]

I understand not tryign to bump.. but i really need to know urgently...
plz.
a capturer WITH PROGRAMS that can capture from any channel and that has a timer, and also that can save to MPEG2, MPEG1, and/or AVI DIVX.
that would be the general. (Lastly.. an exterior hardware, with USB 2.0 OR FIREWIRE CONNECTION)
plz.. thx

[txpharoah]

None of those. The ATI All In Wonder 7500, 8500, and 9700 cards have all the features you want (direct to MPEG2 captures, timers, guides, etc).

You're chasing down DV AVI (firewire capture) when you don't want that.

The ATI AIW 7500 has been as low as $119 recently due to its closeout sales (replaced by 9700). I have the 7500 card, and it's great. I capture from tapes, record from TV, etc.

Read the guide in my signature too for how to capture tv/vhs/etc to DVD with an ATI.

[ebrizo]

if you have a fast enough processor, you can try a leadtek winfast tv 2000 xp deluxe. i've seen it for $50 in several places. my capture machine has an athlon 900 which seems to be working fine, using showshifter and encoding to divx. i do nothing else on that machine so you would need something faster if you plan on using it while capturing.

[amdworld]

thx for the reply, and am interested in the ATI ALL IN WONDER.
it was mentioned that it took lots of comp resources..
i have an athlon xp 1800+ (1.53ghz), 386mb ddr ram, 140 gigs hd.
i was wondering.. while i capture video, can i surf the net, write on a word document.. or watch a video clip?
thx..
if not.. how much is a lot of resource? so much that the comp is unaccesible?

[ebrizo]

you can do all those except maybe watch a video, although it really depends on how you capture. i capture with the divx codec and I'm unable to watch a video and capture with an amd 1700+ but if I use mpeg2 it seems to be fine. the file sizes are just way too big using mpeg2 so I don't use it.