V+ Recordings to PC Via Coax?

[grabbi]

Im just looking for a way to get them straight on the PC, and obviously Im going to need some sort of Recording program to save them on the PC HDD, but what kind of components will I need?

A Tv Card for a Coax, Coax lead, and the V+ Box to be playing the program so I can record it?

Will it record it in a format Windows recognize?

[Stuart C]

For the PC, you need an analogue TV card, and a Scart to phono or Scart to svideo (although I can't remember if v+ supports svideo). Your TV card software will record the video in a format Windows recognises.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

...and a Scart to phono or Scart to svideo...recognises.

Considering Scart was the best analogue connection, it always infuriated me that no TV cards for PC ever had it as an input.

Anyways to the topic in hand...Stuart is spot on. Just make sure your computer (and the TV card for that matter) are up to the job. It took me ages to get the correct combination that allowed recordings with the sound in sync

I don't know whether or not you have a TV card already but I would stay well clear of Pinnacle. So many times I have been let down by the poor software they supply with their hardware. Hauppague, AverMedia and Terratec are the three I would strongly recommend as there software doesn't seem to be so heavy on system resources and can therefore record at full DVD quality

[grabbi]

Scart to Phono lead? Theyre easy to come by! Is there any recommended software too?

---------- Post added at 22:11 ---------- Previous post was at 22:09 ----------

Originally Posted by Bob

It took me ages to get the correct combination that allowed recordings with the sound in sync

Spec. wise, the Computer is a powerhouse, so that wont be a problem.

Im not sure I know what you mean with the syncing... Do you record both separately, and, say, use Windows Movie Maker to combine them?

---------- Post added at 22:14 ---------- Previous post was at 22:11 ----------

Oh! So the hardware comes with the software? Thats great! How much would this cost altogether then?

[Bob]

I had a PC that was well above the recommended spec, but even that failed to cope. But I think a lot of it had to do with the software as much as anything.

As regards software, the software that comes with the TV card for the recording (provided it's not by Pinnacle - that's their recording software and not the editing suite as I have never used that).

For the burning and making your DVDs I would recommend either Nero 7 (although that can be difficult) and Adobe Photoshop Elements 3. To be honest this the hardest part, and I have had so many DVD fail to burn or in the case of Nero the programme crashes. Adobe is much more stable, but if you already have Nero I would make use of it's in built software.

In terms of syncing, the programme will do that all at the same time, it's just for one reason or another, the software hasn't been able to cope with full quality recording so the sound lags behind the picture.

I thought once that everything was fine (everything was in sync when watched on PowerDVD), but when watching the burned DVD, the sound was about a second behind the picture. So I would test your recordings in say Media Player before committing to disc.

Another thing to bare in mind is that often you have to pay around £5 for a license to be able to record in MPEG2 depending on the TV card bought

COST

That will totally depend on the unit you purchase, but you should get something reasonable for around £40. Most cards tend to be DVB-T compatible as well now so you can have Freeview on your PC. Have a look on eBay, but to be honest with all the hassle I have had in the past, I would suggesting using PC World's collect in store feature so the returns process is much easier if something goes wrong (and then you also benefit from lower prices).

[jamiefrost]

I'd go for a hauppauge PVR card, ran a PC setup as a full PVR for years, the software with the card would be fine for what you want to do.

JJ