help me find the right video card (TV-in)

[intoxicated]

i'm confused with all these cards...

i attached a screenshot of what i have in my device manager...

basically... i need a video card that supports TV-in not just TV out (like the one I have)...

first of all i need to know which one is the best for my system and then i need help on deciding on which one to get...

please help me...

 

[mbunny]

Are you planning to watch TV or capture video?

Watching TV, a decent TV Tuner would have Hardware encoding to help take the load off your CPU. Remote control is also a very nice extra.

As for capture cards for normal yellow video cable.

You can try the Asus VIVO cards. They're quality IMHO. Leadtek make some decent ones as well.

 

[intoxicated]

Originally posted by mbunny
Are you planning to watch TV or capture video?

Watching TV, a decent TV Tuner would have Hardware encoding to help take the load off your CPU. Remote control is also a very nice extra.

As for capture cards for normal yellow video cable.

You can try the Asus VIVO cards. They're quality IMHO. Leadtek make some decent ones as well.

i'm planning on using it to watch tv and record shows when i'm not home.

speaking of VIVO, what does that mean? and also IMHO? i'm sorry i'm ignorant when it comes to this.

thanks

 

[Dagnasty]

VIVO is video in/video out. And IMHO is 'in my humble opinion'. I myself have an ATI Radeon 9700 All In Wonder. It does video in as well as video out. It also has built in personal video recorder software which does essentially the same things as a Tivo unit. IMHO its an awesome card. If the price is a little too much you can always go for a Radeon AIW 8500

 

[mbunny]

Well do you want a Tuner card or a new graphics card as well?

You can get just a tuner which will let you record off your VCR and normal stuff.

If you do get a Tuner, things that discern a good one from a bad one. As posted earlier.

MPEG encoding done by the hardware than the software helps to take the load off the CPU if you have a low end computer. Of course if you run a beast this is less of an issue and will save you a chunk of money.

A Remote control while it may seem frivolous, its quite useful if your not close to your computer (ie. lying in bed watching ur monitor or something).

Chipset is important. Most of them use a Philips or a Conexant Chipset for the TV Tuning, those 2 will give you the most compatability for both Windows and Linux.

I think thats about it....

Radeon All-In-Wonders are the bees knees... don't go past them. They are amazing cards but are pricey. Cost vs Needs.. I was considering getting a 8500 AIW prior to getting my 9700 Pro. Interestingly... they were only a hundred dollars off from each other =P (Australian mind you)

 

[Taurus]

umm... did anyone look at his device manager?

your card has VIVO. see where it says "nVidia WDM TVTuner" and "nVidia WDM Video Capture" and such? those are all related to vivo. just fix your (!) driver issue by downloading the newest capture drivers from your video card manufacturer's website. then install the appropriate software and you should be good to go.

oh, to record coaxial cable (from the wall), you'll have to run it through a converter (like a vcr) to convert it to composite video (yellow rca cable) which then goes right in the card. the audio (red and/or white rca cable) goes into your sound card's line-in.