I have a few hundred vhs tapes that I'd like to edit and consolidate to DVDs. I don't need a remote for the device, I'd like to have the ability to use a few different editing programs that I have, and the quality of the results are key. What's the best way to do this, at a reasonable price?
This was actually one with the most happy customer reviews: http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=4267835/zip_code=46224/ I'm just not sure about the MCE part. Would this particular model not work with an operating system other than the Media Center Edition?
Thanks to rebootjim's advice I purchased the Hauppauge PVR-250 and it works great. The reason I selected the 250 is it's also a tv-tuner card, which gives me the ability to record tv shows and burn them to dvd. It's a great product and I highly recommend it.
You do NOT need MCE to use an MCE card. Buy the MCE version (no remote control) if you want, and download drivers from http://www.shspvr.com If you want a remote, get the "retail" version.
Thank you both for helping me decide. According to this link the 150 has a tuner, so I should be able to record live TV to it, right? http://www.shspvr.com/ I saw the Aver DVD EZMaker pci card for about $25, and it records live tv, and I like these reviews: http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=617250/id_type=M Then there's this one for about $27, after rebate, and it has more inputs, but isn't a name brand: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=674000&Tab=11&NoMapp=0 I wish that I could afford a TBC, though. I, also, like those hauppuage models. I'm just trying to get the best deal. Thanks.
"Best Deal"... The other cards you mention, are all "soft" cards, and rely 100% on your CPU to do the encoding (to avi), which will then need to be re-encoded to mpeg-2, then authored and burned. The Hauppauge PVR-150 does hardware mpeg-2 encoding, doesn't rely on the CPU for any of it's work (just writing the video to the hard drive is all), and is DVD compliant, just author and burn. If you really want quality, get a Canopus ADVC-110 or 300, Canopus Procoder, and DVDLab Pro. Bring $. The Hauppauge card has comparable quality, with a lot less work.
