Watching and Recording Shows

[jookalook]

What do I need to watch and record shows on my computer monitor? Here is my upcoming build.

-Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
-EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
-Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
-GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
-SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

Do I need to get a seperate "cheap" card with a TV Tuner? Can I just buy a TV Tuner? Have zero experience with this so any help at all would be great.

 

[PC eye]

There are quite a number to tv tuner cards also cable ready that include a PVR(Personal Video Recorder) software package with them. You set a timer with that like you would with a home vhs system. The program will then start redording from the tv/cable source usually in avi format where you watch that later with the software's own or another video player.

Newegg has several makes and models to choose from on the two product pages seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380047%201148510222%201148616168&bop=And&Pagesize=50

There you reduce the number of products shown by selecting the type of device whether internal pci or external usb and others by clicking the type you are looking for. For most products you simply need the one device plus the signal source itself. Ironically when buying a video capture card to go along with a tv tuner card by the same make while the caprute failed to work the software works well on the tuner card. For Vista be advised a wait will be seen there for more Vista ready products.