Card with mpeg-2 hardware capturing for standard definition?

[Giantsloth]

I was looking at the ratings section of the capture cards on this site and as far as cards with mpeg-2 hardware capturing, the WinTV PVR 350 is amongst the top, but it is also discontinued. You can still get it on Ebay though. I was wondering if the new WinTV HVR-1600 is a better card. It's got a lower score but few votes on it. I'm looking mostly to capture satellite standard definition through the s-video input. I used to have a Dazzle DVCII and it was a great card but it's discontinued and they don't even sell it on Ebay anymore. I also want to capture some high-definition but not as much, what would be the best card for this? It seems like some cards may excel at high-definition but not as well on standard definition.

[jagabo]

I've seen a few reports that the 1600 isn't quite as good as the 350 but I suspect that was more nostalgia than anything else.

For HD capture of analog video you're pretty much limited to the Hauppauge HD PVR and the Blackmagic Intensity Pro.

[yoda313]

Just to clarify what jagabo posted the hauppauge hd pvr and blackmagic intensity pro are only needed for capturing through component or hdmi sources.

If you are looking for just OVER-THE-AIR high def recording than you don't need to get quite as sophisticated. You only need to look for capture cards that have onboard hdtv atsc digital tuners. For these you can still use a regular old aerial antenna but be sure it is a powered antenna as regular unpowered ones don't tend to pull in enough of the digital signal.

[jagabo]

Yes, there are many capture devices with ATSC tuners required to capture over-the-air HD broadcasts. They often also have QAM tuners for capturing SD and HD digital cable. But these can only capture the non-encrypted cable channels and this is usually restricted to the same channels you can get over-the-air: ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, etc.

Since the OP was asking about the 1600 and satellite, I assumed he wanted HD capture from the sat box. I'm pretty sure the two devices are the only real options. There is a Japanese device called the MonsterX but it's hard to find any information about it.