TV Card Advice Please [RESOLVED]

[Madboy]

Ive been wanting to get a TV card for some time so i can record some tricks etc from my Xbox on Halo 2, and record Video straight to my PC's Hard Drive. The problem is ive never used one before so i ask some questions:

1) Are They Easy To Install?
2) My PC is in a different room to my Xbox/TV, will the wire reach?
3) How do i know if one is of good quality?
4) I found this one, please comment: Click Here

Thanks for the help and advice

[NoteMe]

Ive been wanting to get a TV card for some time so i can record some tricks etc from my Xbox on Halo 2, and record Video straight to my PC's Hard Drive. The problem is ive never used one before so i ask some questions:

1) Are They Easy To Install?
2) My PC is in a different room to my Xbox/TV, will the wire reach?
3) How do i know if one is of good quality?
4) I found this one, please comment: Click Here

Thanks for the help and advice

1) About the same as a GPU. If you have ever done that, then you can install a TV card.
2) You can buy 10m+ wires. But remember that they become very expensive when you reach this lengths. And it is big differences in quality. I have a 10m Monster cable, and retail price for it is about 100 US dollars.
3) Usualy the play back is more or less the same these days. It is the TV signal that sucks anyway. Just check that it has the recording feautures you want. And for what resolutions and bit depth and so on. ANd that it supports your TV signal. I.e NTSC, PAL BG, PAL I, and so on.
4) It is a prefectly fine card. Just notice that the video editing software it comes with is kind of ****y if you want to make DVDs. If that is not your goal, then the software is ok too. Nothing fancy, but does the job.



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[Madboy]

Thanks for the info NoteMe, well quality wise i want it to be the same as what i would see through my TV. So if i was playing on the Xbox, the picture i would see, would have to be pretty much same quality if i recorded it to my pc.

GPU? What is that

I didnt realise i could cost so much for extension cables!

[NoteMe]

You should never extend a TV cable. You lose a lot of image quality that way. but of course with most cables you can do it. But there is cheaper brands then Mondter though. But since I worked in the TV department in a store for some years, I always ended up buying the best, with life time warenty and stuff. (got it cheap...)

GPU = Graphics card.

Or if you have installed any other PCI card, then you can compare it to that. Not to hard, just be carefull.

If I remember right, this is the totaly lines of the different TV signals:
NTSC: 525
PAL: 625
PAL N: 625
PAL M: 525
Secam: 625

Most TV cards that has the record posiblitiy can record in MAX the same as the TV system it is running on. Since you pointed me to an English page I guess you are in England, so that means you need a TV card that can take PAL signals. PAL BG if I am not wrong (can't remember exactly). And I guess that card is recording in MAX 640*480. But it doesn't say.

[Madboy]

Yeah im in England, it says under my name

I have installed a PCI Sound Card, very easy.

I could always ask around some places, its just i saw some TV cards worth £20, when i also saw some for £80 + - Just wondered if i got one for about £25 would it be lacking in the features i wanted.

The main purpose of one is to record tricks i do on Halo 2, so i can upload them on the internet

[whothis]

Carnt you record on video first , then wire up the video to the tv card ..? if not mybe you invest in a cheap tv signal booster.

[Madboy]

I forgot to mention, my VCR is hooked up to my TV through scart to record my Xbox gameplay, i just dont know how to transfer the video from VHS to my PC

What would a TV Signal Booster achieve? Wouldnt that just strengthen the quality?

Thanks

[dglienna]

Most video recorders don't have SCART out. (Or super video)
Do you have a camcorder? Most of the newer ones have firewire out, and your computer just may have a firewire option. You could use RCA to get the game into the video recorder, and then firewire into the PC. Or else, record onto the camcorder, and the edit it into the PC. My Sony camcorder came with software to let me do video editing on the PC.

[Madboy]

No Camcorder, could a webcam be aided in someway?

[kfcSmitty]

GPU = Graphics card.

technically GPU = Graphics Processing Unit

So its the CPU on the graphics card, not the card itself

[dglienna]

No Camcorder, could a webcam be aided in someway?

Yes, but you probably wouldn't like the quality you got.

You should also look into a video capture card. You can take a look here:

http://www.videoguys.com/vidcap.htm

You already have a vcr which can be used as a tuner should you want to watch tv, and when and if you do get a camcorder, you can use that card if your camera doesn't have firewire (or your computer doesn't)

[Madboy]

Please explain how the webcam menthod could be used, i know the quality might not be perfect, but its a start, then maybe i can find software to clean it up

[dglienna]

There is lots of software that let you record what you see on the screen.
Here is one program:

http://www.5starshare.com/1st_Screen...soft21854.html

The camera would have to be in front of the tv.

[Madboy]

I dont understand it, by reading it im assuming it records whats on your PC monitor?

Surely just setting the webcam in front of the TV would gain the same result?

Its going to be difficult seeming as my Xbox is in a different room to my PC

[kfcSmitty]

putting a webcam infront of a tv will be horrible quality...unless you have an amazing webcam that is.

I would suggest getting the TV card and just running a cord to your tv

[dglienna]

That program will record what comes in thru the webcam. As I said, you probably won't like the quality. Get a card.

[Madboy]

Ok, but i already have the software to record what comes through my webcam, came with the webcam

ok, i guest ill just try a TV card sometime

Thanks for the ideas/suggestions