Hi. I am looking for a TV/video capture card that is compatible with Vista. I want to be able to capture analogue TV, (mostly although digital would be good too) and I want to convert videos to DVD, (some PAL some NTSC). I was thinking of something along the lines of the Wintv Hvr1300, but need to check out if: 1) It offers good bang for buck? 2)Is compatible with vista? 3) Will allow me to convert US NTSC videos with macrovision to PAL DVD? 4)Is there a better card out there at around the same price? Thanks for all help.
Ah come on people. little help? Also would a card bought in the U.S. work ok in Ireland, (ie PAL)? Thanks.
If its an NTSC card then it won't work on PAL TV. As long as its UHF it will be able to see the channels, but the signal will be in a different format. I use a Pinnacle USB TV card and it works flawlessly, I would check out AVS forums for better info on the card you intend to choose. Personally I wouldn't even bother doing a re-format from NTSC to PAL. I've used Canopus procoder to do it in the past, it took ages and is never that good a result, if its home video it's worth doing, if its a commercial video, just re-buy it.
Thanks for getting back to me. What card would you recommend that would allow you to pick up analogue/digital TV and give you the ability to connect a VCR?
This Pinnacle card will do both Analogue and Digital. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pinnacle-PCTV-Dual-Hybrid-PCIe/dp/B000IWWYR2 I’ve also seen some cards that will do PAL/SECAM/NTSC overclockers UK has some, wouldn’t buy it there though  If you connect a VCR via the RF connector to the Analogue input of the card, it will allow you to pick up the output of the VCR, all you need to do is tune the station in on the card. The other good thing about these cards is that they will remove any Macro vision from a protected VCR, which is useful if you intend to transfer an old VHS film onto DVD for backup purposes. I currently only have an Analogue card, as I'm waiting to replace it with a Freesat and terrestrial card so I can use it for HD straight to the TV. If I was buying a new card now, I would look at one that had Freesat in as well. http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.asp...&NavigationKey=11021&InMerch=1#specifications There are some that are HD compatible through DVB-T but there are no channels being broadcast over that interface in HD yet (and not for a long while probably) If you want to get HD then its DVB-S2 you need to look for
Thanks BigDK. With regard to the Pinnacle card, I am not quite sure, does it allow you to attach a VCR? If so I think that will be the one I go for.
Hi Yes it will, you just use the RF ariel lead to connect to the card. Antenna - VCR - TV Card, then just tune the card in using auto function, as long as the VCR is on it will pick it up as a seperate channel.
