TV tuner versus DVD recorder?

[Lupo]

Hello again,

It's my second post on this board, I'm glad to meet you all.

I'm planning on buying a DVD recorder or HDD player/recorder but I've got a quick question...
Assuming we've got the same source (i.e analog TV signal), which one is better - a good TV tuner card or DVD recorder?
(by "better" I refer to the quality of the recorded video)

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Lupo

[Alex_ander]

A tuner card is better: you can use lossless compression while recording, then process the video the way you like. Very cheap modern cards (like Beholder at my location) give very stable results.

[johns0]

I prefer dvd recording,not much difference in picture quality when using best recording speed and no need to encode and no worries about audio sync,i used capture cards for years and wont use them again.

[sanlyn]

Hello again,

It's my second post on this board, I'm glad to meet you all.

I'm planning on buying a DVD recorder or HDD player/recorder but I've got a quick question...
Assuming we've got the same source (i.e analog TV signal), which one is better - a good TV tuner card or DVD recorder?
(by "better" I refer to the quality of the recorded video)

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Lupo

It depends on what you're recording, and how picky you are. Just about any clean source records well onto a DVD recorder -- unless it's VHS or something similarly noisy and unpredictable. Once you see the artifacts you get from even a "clean" VHS source, you'll be convinced that you have to either get it onto a PC and clean it, or just live with it.

You get the best (i.e, cleanest and most easily post-processed and edited videos) by capturing to AVI or other workable PC format and rendering to DVD. But few have the time for all that work except for special projects and restorations. This assumes you'd capture with VDub or better software than the stuff supplied with most capture cards, stuff that's often untalented and user-UNfriendly, even when they work. If I had to choose between the quality from processing on a PC -vs- recording to an HDD recorder, I'd choose the PC. But if I had to choose between the quality of poor capture software -vs- recording to a decent DVD recorder, the recorder wins hands-down. The final decision, of course, is which would take up less of your time??? If time's the main issue (it usually is), go with the recorder.

HDD units are getting scarce. The few that are available today are no match for the good stuff of just a couple of years ago. If you're going to get an HDD, grab it soon. Factories are under great pressure to discontinue any product that lets you to make your own videos at home.