does all capturing devices (PCI or usb) have to be connected directl to tv?

[method]

Hi all. could any one tell me if capturing devices such as pci cards and usb devices has to be connected directly to tv in order to record? or we have to connect cable TV cable, satellite receiver and antenna directly to the capturing device such as pci card and usb device ?

[jagabo]

They generally connect to a cable box, satellite receiver via composite or s-video cable, or to an antenna or cable tv source via coax.

Some TVs do have a monitor-out connector so you could connect to that to record whatever is showing on the TV.

[method]

jagabo .Thanks for u reply. how can i find out if my TV has monitor -out connector? does it have any technical name ? a picture of that type of connector will be helpful.
one of my tv has the following connectors : pc audio in, pc in ,av in (yellow ,white and red),s-video in,antenna in and RGB. Can any one these connectors be used for recording via pci or usb based capturing device?

[jagabo]

A monitor-out connector would be labled as "monitor out", "video out" or some such. It will usually be an s-video or RCA connector. Your TV doesn't appear to have one.

If you are recording from standard definition cable TV you should use the RCA connections (the red, white, and yellow) or s-video connection (along with the red and white connections for audio) from your cable box. Same for satellite TV. This will let you record whatever the cable or satellite box tuned to, even premium content (as long as your recording device doesn't reject macrovision protected signals).

With cable TV and a recording device with a tuner you can connect to the cable coax out of the wall. The built in tuner will be able to recieve all unencrypted analog channels. This way you can record one channel while watching another on the TV.

[Stanley99]

It does not look like those will work. You will need some sort of video and audio Out connections. If you are using a satellite receiver or cable box check that too. Some of those have a second set of outputs that you can use.