Record TV on my PC

drmartinuk

Hello,

I would like to be able to record TV on my PC as basically I can't afford a fancy HD recorder.
Any ideas how I would do this?
Can anyone recommend a good and cheap TV tuner card and software?

Thanks everyone
Martin

Blacksheep1979

hauppage are generally good - depends wether you want freeview or not?

ianeverton

I have a digital tuner that is usb. As long as the aerial is reasonable i get more channels than my freeview box.

I bought one from pcworld a couple of years ago for £40 with timeshift and PVR. Im sure you would get one for about £30 or less to get all freeview digital channels.

OldBear

If you're not interested in a fancy new card with Freeview built in, I can highly recommend this nice cheap Leadtek card: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/51198. I have one of these, had it for a few years now.

I have it connected to the spare RF out on my Sky box, although you can just plug your aerial straight into it, or by using a splitter; it works an absolute treat. It comes with a remote control and recording quality can be set to whatever floats your boat. It also comes with software for editing out all those nasty ads and trailers.

HTH

rmg1

Sorry to go off at a tangent, but will this allow you to record an output from a video recorder onto a PC?

OldBear

rmg1 wrote: »

Sorry to go off at a tangent, but will this allow you to record an output from a video recorder onto a PC?

Sorry, I should have mentioned that.

If your talking about the card I mentioned, Yes, you can. Changing input to the PC card is as simple as clicking a button using the bundled software.

I have mine connected through an old VCR. Ideal for making digital copies of those old wedding / birthday videos.

I should also add that this card also has a built in FM radio tuner.

HTH

Bear.

rmg1

OK, now for three stupid questions :-
1) Can I just use a SCART-composite cable?
2) Can I buy the software on its own and if so what do I need?
3) Does a Radeon 9250 graphics card support this (to your knowledge)?

I've been on to ATI, but they just keep saying "refer to the card specs" which I can't find on the website and didn't get from them in the first place (which a whole other story!)

OldBear

rmg1 wrote: »

OK, now for three stupid questions :-
1) Can I just use a SCART-composite cable?
2) Can I buy the software on its own and if so what do I need?
3) Does a Radeon 9250 graphics card support this (to your knowledge)?

I've been on to ATI, but they just keep saying "refer to the card specs" which I can't find on the website and didn't get from them in the first place (which a whole other story!)

No such thing as a stupid question when you're looking for new information.

In the best traditions of MPs, I'm going to answer your last question first. The Radeon 9250 is a graphics out card. i.e. it sends graphics from the PC to a monitor (or monitors if it supports dual monitors), or a TV if it has a TV-out connector. It does not support TV-in.

As for questions 1 and 2, the easiest way to answer this (with regards to the card I mentioned) is to send you to a review of the current version of the card. You can find one here: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1574

You can also head to this link: ftp://ftp.leadtek.com.tw/tv_tuner/TV_Card_Manual/040128/board_layout.pdf (it may take a while to load). This will show you what can and cannot be connected to the card. I have version 1, but they may be sending out version 4 now, so I'm not 100% sure of how the sound connects.

I hope this helps.

Bear

rmg1

Shame - looks like I'll have to shell out for a TV-in card. Any idea what's cheapest for a reasonable quality?

::edit 1::
BTW, is this one any good for a basic card?
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/54154

::edit 2::
Just thought of something else, will a video capture card double as a graphics card for output onto the screen?

Blacksheep1979

edit 2, no - but you can get VIVO cards which support video in video out ie will work as a graphics card and a capture card.

and edit 1, you are better off spending a bit for a card with mpeg-2 encoding onboard as otherwise you may notice performance issues with your computer.

rmg1

::edit 2::
So I will need to keep bothcards in the machine?

::edit 1::
I'm only wanting to convert VHS to DVD/digital/avi so I don't think that will cause me any problems, unless anyone knows different?