I need a new computer

| | Comments (3)

So I borrowed a digital tuner card off me little brother today. Well it works, however it seems that my computer is too slow to cope with the input (it's a PIII 866!). This box actually picks up all the digital channels and seems to have no problem with them. So I don't know what was wrong with the box I borrowed off Campbell. But it also means that my aerial should work fine. This one even works with my old set of rabbit-ears, although not the aerial that comes with the box.

So.

I need two things:

  • ability to record television straight to hard drive so that I can one day retire my vcr machines
  • ability to digitise my old vhs tapes
    Actually I need three things. The third:
  • decent enough video editing software to process the stuff I digitise and burn the lot to dvd

    The first option is a hi-fi dvd recorder. If I get one with a hard drive I can use it as a vcr. The disadvantages, aside from the fact they're mostly only analogue at the moment, is that their editing is terribly primitive. Basically you can't with any control. It'd be ok for a short-medium term solution but I'd probably want to reedit everything at some point in the future and redo it all.

    The other option is a tuner card of some sort. Having established that at least one digital tuner card works here I can probably safely get a digital one. The disadvantage is that I'd need a new computer.

    So, a new computer with a tuner card and a big hard drive, and some good video editing software. What to get. I actually for a moment considered getting one of these (Dave'd be proud), but I don't think they have video inputs (I wonder if you can get a usb or firewire box with rca and aerial inputs?). Anyone have any recommendations or advice on what to get?

  • 3 Comments

    Dave2 said:

    There are FireWire "break-out boxes" that can convert an analog signal to a DV stream. Though I just use my DV camcorder as a real-time converter (some of them have this ability, but not all).

    May 8, 2005 11:18 PM

       

    Gary LaPointe said:

    eyeTV makes a few different external models for the Macintosh. http://www.elgato.com/eyeTV/
    I'm not sure if Alchemy makes any exteral boxes....

    May 9, 2005 9:48 PM

       

    kazza said:

    I shall have a look :)

    I took the box to work, and while my work puta can cope with the speeds ok, it can still only get channel 7 and 2, and a couple of the digital only channels. I don't think a faster computer will help here, I don't think the reception will be good enough, so I'm thinking I may just get an analogue tuner card :/

    May 9, 2005 10:32 PM

       

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    I am a recent Canberra resident after having spent the first 34 years of my life in Sydney. I am married to my beautiful husband Stu, and we live with several computers and a lot of fish.

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