Hey there,
Well that depends on what kind of quality he wants. You can get a TV Tuner card that will capture video as long as you have the
software to COMPRESS/DECOMPRESS it. The Capture cards usually only have a difference as far as capturing video of a compression
chip that is onboard. This usually supports either MPEG1 or MPEG2 quality. I guess what are the specs of his comp. The faster
the comp he has the better of a chance he can get a cheaper card.
. Personally I got the LeadTek WINFAST TV2000 XP.
It came with a TV tuner, I/R remote, FM antenna and connection, and ETC ETC. I chose this card because it had good reviews
and was supported in WIN XP. As long as you have the software to do the compression then a tuner card would be fine.
The software listed is free. Unless a PLUS version is stated
. TV tuner cards can capture video and watch it as well. Capture
cards are more limited in the range of what types of video connections can be used but have compression hardware....so that's its plus
side. In fact I am using the LEADTEK card to back up my wedding video from our HI-8 camcorder to a VCD format so we can watch it on
our DVD player.
I will know how good it really is when I get the card on Monday or Tuesday so I will reply once I try it out. Who
knows you may even get to see a video clip taken by it
.
Try this link :
VCD Help (Not just for VCDs...all kinds of video stuff)
Virtual Dub is good for capturing and editing
Virtual Dub Webpage
TMpeg is good for different video compressions (Usually just have to have the codec and it will do the rest
)
Some version are FREE and some cost like PLUS VERSIONS
http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_main.html
BTW - The LEADTEK card costed me about $65 on NEWEGG.com and has FREE FEDEX Saver Shipping as well
. Not much
better than that I would say.
P.S. - Make sure he has LOTS of HDD space. Those movies can be space consuming
Hope this Helps
SladeZero
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