Capture some TV programmes via some sort of PCI card?

[The FNG]

So as the username would suggest - I am the FNG.

My quick Q is - I know what DVB stands for but can someone point me in the right direction as to what's involved? I know that some DVR's and TV's come with built in DVB-T, but my query relates to PC use.

Basically, I'd like to be able to capture some TV programmes via some sort of PCI card in my PC and then be able to edit out any adverts, and then via Handbreak (or similar) encode to .avi or .mkv files. At present, I have to record stuff on my digital sat box (like Sky), then play it in real time and record it on my DVR's hard drive (which can only connect to the Sat box via Scart), then copy it from my DVR hard drive to a dvd-rw disc, put disc into PC, rip to folder, and encode contents of folder with Handbreak.

I assume there has to be an easier less time consuming way to do this, and I'm also losing a lot of quality throughout the process by digital to analogue and then analogue back to digital again. Can anyone shed some light on this please - using as much laymans terms as possible.

Can someone also tell me whether .avi or .mkv is better? I heard .mkv is better - but people say .avi (XviD) is better supported? I'm just looking for what will give me a better quality picture at the same file size..

Thanks.

Even if I had a DVB card in my PC, how does it capture TV - do I need an ariel or something or a satellite dish?

[redwudz]

The FNG, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time. From our rules:

Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
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Thanks,
Moderator redwudz

[The FNG]

The FNG, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time.
Thanks,
Moderator redwudz

Sorry - will do, no probs.

[The FNG]

Anyone out there got any ideas on what's needed to start up?

[turk690]

The quickest and highest-quality all-digital way would be to get a satellite receiver PCI card. A major maker of these is TwinHan. Some models are FTA, some contain a CI slot, some can do HD, some are specific to DVB-T (apart from DVB-S). Although the major objective of these PCI cards is to watch DVB on your PC, the programs that come with them also enable you to record the streams you watch (or not) as MPEG2 transport stream files *.ts, or to actually convert them on the fly to bonafide *.mpg files on your HDD. A free program ProgDVB can also work wonders. In most cases these captured files are readily editable with your fave NLE; in others you might have to prep them up with, say, Womble MPEG-VCR (like when there are glitches and audio can lag or lead video) before cutting them up.
There are some DVB sat boxes that purport to stream the *.ts to your HDD through a USB connection, but they've never worked for me. I've also encountered one sat box with a USB slot, where, you plug a flash drive into it, fiddle with the box settings to stream *.ts into it, plug the flash drive into your PC later, and view/edit these files with a program installed beforehand.
Typical standard-definition DVB streams rarely get past 3mB/s bitrate total, and most are around 480x576 resolution with an accompanying 128kB/s MPEG layer 2 audio. To maintain the all-digital chain, I merely cut and join and do not re-encode anything. Most DVD-authoring programs will not accept non-standard DVD resolutions, though (like the one above), but DVDLab-Pro will.
Anyway, IMHO, re-encoding an SD MPEG2 stream which has a bitrate below 3mB/s with a view to making it xVid and stuffing it into an mkv container will just make it look shittier. HD is a different beast, though.