For what it's worth, I have the SIIG 1394 card. It came with Ulead Video Studio LE, under $100 now a days.
The main thing is software. The Ulead stuff works for me and my DV camera. If anyone can recommend something better, my ears are open.
Jeremy
Side question - what codec is best for recording, I used to make everyting in MPEG1, but I am starting to mess with Divx now. Any recs on that?