Advice sought for my Gift Card

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Hello,

I received a $100 gift card for Best Buy for Christmas and I am seeking some advice on what video capture device to buy. I have checked out a few devices but I am not sure which to get so I am hoping for some advice.

I am thinking about getting the WinTv PVR 250 (I'll have to kick up some money for it) but I am not sure if this is exatly what I want.

What I am looking for is a decent (obviously for this price) device I can use to capute VHS, I am thinking that if the WinTV has analog IN this can be accomplished. Some other things I need to consider is I am out of free PCI slots on my computer. I have available USB and Firewire ports, so I am looking for a device that will connect via either of those 2 methods.

Some of the other capture devices I have seen are Dazzle and Pinnicle products, but after my experience with Dazzle DVC 150 I am not happy with Pinnicle's product (currently the Dazzle is sitting on a self collecting dust) I like the option that WinTV has that I can also use it to record TV.

I am hoping someone can offer some advice on what to go with that is in my price range. Another question I have is will the WinTV PVR Windows Media Edition work with my Windows XP Pro?

If this helps my system specs are

3.2 Ghz CPU
1 Gig 400mhz Ram
35 GB 10,000 RPM Hard Drive
External 300 GB Hard drive connected via Firewire
Primary Video Card ATI X800 Pro (Monitor and TV connected the TV is used as a monitor)
Secondary Video Card ATI 9200 LE PCI (2 Monitors Connected yes I have 4 monitors)
Soundblaster Audigy 2

Thanks to anyone that can help me make this decision.

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Additional Notes,

Below are the devices I am looking at

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8040586&type=product&productCategoryId=c...=1157068283539

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8040611&type=product&productCategoryId=c...=1157068283607

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6539604&type=product&productCategoryId=c...=1077629691913


Does the reall require Win XP Media Edition? I only have Win XP Pro
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7641741&st=WinTV&type=product&id=1134697745634

If This card is good I ma be able to remove one of my other PCI cards to make rom for this
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7215603&type=product&productCategoryId=c...=1114638478841

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bump...someone please help

[ozymango]

Hey, sometimes it takes a bit of time before we can get back to you, have patience, Grasshopper. Plus, bumping your own post isn't polite, and can incur penalties if you do it too much.

Anyway, based on your budget and the fact you've got to deal with Best Buy (a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone), I myself lean strongly toward the Plextor external converter. My bias: Everything I've bought from Pinnacle (hardware and software) has crapped out on me over the years, and everything I've bought from Plextor (including my very first CD burner, 2X!) is still working. So there's that.

Also the Plextor appears to be Divx certified, so it'll allow you even more good converting options that either of the Pinnacle devices. I'm assuming you don't need a tuner; if you do want to record TV broadcasts, I'd use the external VCR plugged into the converter as the tuner. Doesn't give you all the programmable options of a built-in tuner, but I'll bet the quality will be superior for the price.

Of course you need to have a USB 2.0 slot in your PC, which I'll assume you've got as your specs look more than decent.

As for the WinTV-PVR, it may be decent but again I'm a Plextor man. As far as the "requirement" for XP Media is concerned, I'm pretty sure that's just because the remote that comes with this puppy is made for XP Media's "universal" remote system, meaning it (the remote) is aimed (pardon the pun) at controlling the entire PC via the Media Center drivers. I can't imagine that this device wouldn't work with XP Home or Pro, just that the remote features may be limited or even non-functional. So again, points to the Plextor.

As for the Win-TV-Go, it doesn't have a hardware MPEG2 encoder (as do all the other devices you've listed) and while a software MPEG2 recorder can be just excellent, it does take more than a bit of power from the CPU and system to do the encoding, so it'll cost you in terms of performance. With your system, I imagine it would still do a decent job of viewing/converting, but I think long term you'll be happier with a hardware encoder.

So get the Plextor. Does that help?

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Hi,

Thanks for the post and sorry about the bump...I was getting anxious. I agree with you about Pinnacle, totally bad product, hence the Pinncle Dazzle sitting around collecting dust (worst purchase I have ever made and I feel better that I am not the only one that feels this way)

So for me it is down to the Plextor and the WinTv. So let me see if I understand the Pros and Cons of each.

With the Plextor the video quality should be better but I will be giving up the ability to use it as a PVR to schedule recording. If I want to record TV I will need to hook up a VCR to it and be available to start the recording.

With the WinTV I give up some quality but gain the ability of the TV turner. And flexibility of scheduling the recording. But will also have a pretty much useless remote. I emailed the manufatoror of WinTv about running the product in an XP Pro machine and was answered with this.

The card will work with regular Windows XP. You will have to probably download our software from our website. One thing though the MCE remote control is made for MCE. You can download the MCE drivers from Microsoft but it will only give you limited functionality with our software.

You can use third party application like www.snapstream.com beyond TV software or www.sagetv.com SageTV software. These applications have better compatibility with the MCE remote control.

If this is all correct I am kinda leaning towards WinTV because I am not looking for super high quality but the advantage of the ability to schedule the recording is drawing me.

Please let me know if this is correct and if there is anything else I am missing.


BTW I do have USB 2.0


Thank you very much and I will wait patiently for a response

[ozymango]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but Happy New Year!!!

Okay, based on your needs I say go with the Win-PVR (the pricier one, with the built-in MPEG2 hardware converter, not the "soft" PVR) -- being you'd like to do timeshifting, this is really your most solid option. Also I don't think your picture quality will suffer at all, Hauppauge cards are also very excellent in terms of image quality, I just like Plextor because I've had such good luck with Plextor products.

I'd imagine the image quality between the two cards (Plextor or Win-TV) is probably among the best MPEG2 converters you could find, so it's a wash in terms of quality, so yeah the tuner is definitely worth it. Also it does seem like you'll be able to get the remote to do at least some basic stuff, and for scheduling recordings I'll bet that titantv.com will program your card in a snap, so even if the remote is limited I can't imagine you'll have much problems using your card at least like a good VCR.

So that's my take, if anybody else out there has something to add or warn us about, feel free to chime in!