Hi everyone.

Can someone please help and sugget a good video capture card to me?

I need the the capture card to transfer some programs my DVR to the PC.
I also need a capture card which would transfer videos from a Hi8 camcorder to the PC.

At first I was suggested to look into a tuner card. Then i was told to look into a video capture card instead.

The is the advice i was given:

"You could use a TV Tuner Capture card, but I would not recommend it. Using an RF coax connection between the DVR and your PC will provide the worst video quality and no stereo audio. You're best bet is a modest Analog Video Capture Card that provides SVideo and stereo audio inputs."

And suggestions of a card that will handle both of my needs?

thanks

Short and easy = Hauppauge 150. (usb 2.0 version may also be OK) Right to mpeg2 format... using card's hardware to encode.

Long and easy = Winfast 2000XP (or something like that). But I've only had success in .avi mode... which means transcoding to final format and that needs a fairly fast computer.

Really easy = get a dvd recorder. Record to RW and then rip onto your PC to edit content

Good Luck

Hi
Your camera may be a different subject.
I don't know it for sure but when Sony came with the Hi8 format it was supposed to be a digital recording using the smaller VHS tapes, and it came after MiniDV cameras.
You have to check if it uses iLink for the camera's output. If so, you need a firewire connection for the camera.
If the camera uses other kind of connector (and not iLink) the best way is to use a device to capture the files, having one side the camera's connectors and on the other one that matches your computer inputs for better quality (some have hardware encoding to Mpeg2 and USB 2) and using a file format you can edit, if thats the case.

Thanks for the replies everone.
The Sony camera is this one. The camera belongs to my parents actually and I do not recall seeing an iLink or firewire connection.

That's why it was suggested to go with a video capture card and not a tuner card. I thought they were pretty similar but I guess i was wrong.

i was dealing with the same problem you had, I purchased the "WinTv-PVR usb2 personal video recorder w/ media center kit" from Hauppage. not having a clue what I was doing i was able to transfer movies from my dvr to my computer easily

You're right it has no iLink/Firewire.
Here you can find the specs including the connectors:

http://shopping.msn.com/specs/shp/?itemId=24497898

So it works like transfering/capturing other analogue sgnals.

So will the Hauppauge 150 cover both my needs?

If not, is there another capture card you can suggest?

As it has a S-video input you will be able to connect the camera.
Only point - if you want to edit the clips from your camera (cuts, transitions, efects) you must keep in mind that it captures as Mpeg2 and this is not the ideal file format for editing, unless you have the appropriate software (not all video editors do it well).
At the end it is the software you use for capture and editing that plays the major role, providing you have a quality video input.
But if you want Mpeg2 files, a hardware encoder is of interest.
Just as a matter of curiosity, here goes a discussion about the referred board capabilities:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/249627

(sorry if don't indicate an alternative board but I use only firewire to capture digital video to the computer)

www.videohelp.com/capture
www.videohelp.com/capturecards

Newegg has this Hauppauge card but I don't think any software is included. I only see the CD for drivers.

Or should I get this one that comes with the editor?

Any thoughts?

Thanks