Grabbing video from my camcorder and Tivo (directV)

[IronFar]

What do all of you savvy guys use when you need to grab a video from your camcorder or to put your favorite shows from the tivo onto dvd?

I mean hardware-wise, as there is no direct connection from either of those two devices to my gfx card.

Looking forward to the answers.

 

[LouPoir]

Standalone DVD recorder

 

[IronFar]

Thanks for the reply.

Any other cheaper alternatives than paying $100 + for a standalone dvd recorder?

 

[LouPoir]

I can't think of any that will be easier or that will work as well. You could buy a TV tuner card that has audio/video inputs and a decoder. My experience is that you will be dissapointed with the quality.

 

[IronFar]

Isn't there a simple method to just import the video from the camcorder or Tivo to my computer as MPEG or another format?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

If the camcorder has USB 2.0 or firewire, you can just connect it and capture, edit, add titles, effects, ect. using XP's movie maker. Capturing Tivo content, I have no experience with, but here is a good resource for Tivo hacking link

 

[MScrip]

If your camcorder has video inputs, you can connect your TIVO to the camcorder and record it to a tape. Then capture that tape with your computer.

I'm assuming you have a MiniDV camcorder and a Firewire input on your computer. If not, then the answer is still out there...

 

[MDE]

The easiest would be some kind of capture card (TV tuner will work), but as LouPoir said, the quality won't be all that great.