[selowitch]

I'd like to have a simple way to record cable TV shows (non-HDTV) to either a hard drive or to DVD, with or without the intervention of my Mac (depending on cost).

Am I better off:

Buying Elgato EyeTV and a DVD burner for my Mac?
Getting a TiVo?
Getting a video capture card and maybe an external disk drive and some appropriate software?

The options are getting a little dizzying and some clarity would be much appreciated.

[cnelson87]

...on a budget.
Well, nothing is cheap, but I think my setup is about as budget conscience as it gets. If you want to eventually watch your recorded TV shows on anything other than your Mac, you will need a DVD burner. I bought the Pioneer 105 for $100, I think you can get the newer/faster 107 now for about the same. I also have the ADS-Tech USB DVD, cost was $175 from OWC. It records in mpeg2 in real time, which saves hours of rendering time over capturing in DV. The downside is , other than cutting out the commercials and trimming the beginning and end, you really can't edit it. So, it works fine for recording TV shows or converting VHS movies, but if you need real editing capability, forget it. I use Toast ($100) for burning DVDs, but the ADS-Tech device comes with licensed authoring/burning software.
HTH,
Chris

[druber]

I've got a DVR from the cable company at home. 40 hours, I think, which isn't huge, and it's a closed system, meaning you can't copy shows that have been taped over to your hard drive. But if you have digital cable, it only costs me an additional $12/month. If the programming fee for Tivo is $10/month, it'll take a long time to earn back the cost of owning a Tivo. Sure I wish I could burn some stuff to watch again down the road. But cost-wise, this is hard to beat.

[GORDYmac]

EyeTV and EyeHome work perfectly for me. Since getting EyeHome, I have seldom burned a DVD or VCD.