Capture card? (1 Viewer)

[enchant]

I've got my HTPC running, but I don't have a tv capture card. I don't know if this is, by default, the same as a tuner card. I want it to convert some old home movies on VHS, and the occasional thing that comes out of my set top cable box. Don't really need HD, if that might save me some money.

Are these cards separate from regular graphics cards, or are they all integrated together? I hope not, because I just bought a new video card.

I download tv shows in .avi format from Usenet newsgroups, and I find the quality to be outstanding (for low-def). Is this kind of quality possible with reasonably-priced cards, or do I need something terribly expensive?

 

[Spragleknas]

Today most capture cards are separate cards (since ATi's AIW). I'd recommend that you get a analogue TV-card with hardware encoding capabilities, as it saves CPU power and will work with MP without any "fiddling".

Typical cards are Hauppauge 150-series. For others, google or read the wiki.

HTH