* Allow me to watch video on my computer from the red/yellow/white cables or the old screw-style cable (is that coax?).
* Allow me to record video from VHS, possibly video game console gameplay.
Basically I want to convert my 64-bit gaming rig into a media center. I want to be able to hook a digital cable box up to my computer, watch TV on the computer, and use the computer to record content from cable (or whatever I hook up). I realize for a full media center modification, I also need a remote and receiver. I understand this... I'm not looking for those parts at this time, unless they're bundled with the capture device and it's still a good deal. I'm not looking for armchair websurfing just yet - I still have just a 19" CRT. But in the next few years, I want an HDTV (not a plasma, just a wide CRT one - Sears has a 34" Sony WEGA wide HDTV for $999, but that's Sears, so I'm sure I could get it cheaper) and want to use that as my monitor, but there are a couple things my sister-in-law and her boyfriend have recorded on VHS, and I want it on the computer. A couple home videos, a couple wrestling matches...
I've heard of a few, but with XP Media Center and something of a media center craze going on, I figured there'd be people here with some good and bad experiences I could learn from.
I tried asking this on another forum I'm on, but the topic got 66 views and no replies. I figure a video capture card/device is less common than, say, a CPU, but I also figure someone's had some kind of experience. "Stay clear of Brand A" or "I've always had good luck with Brand B" at least. Maybe a little brand war, like the AMD vs. Intel and nVidia vs. ATI debates we all know and/or took part in.