choosing a video capture card

M wants a video capture card to archive his old VHS tapes.

Based on the shootout at The Desk Top Video Handbook On Line ver 14.0 and Video Capture Card Round-Up VIII March 2004 update (now supplanted by Video Capture Card Round-Up March 2005 update) which he sent me, here's my recommendation.

First, check if the system has USB2. For this, Open Device Manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus section. There should be an "Enhanced" USB host controller present.

In case you want to try DV also, note the Hard disk's number from Device Manager - google will tell whether it is 7200 rpm or not.

Plextor ConvertX PX-M402U $149.95 would be good if the system is a P4 or faster than 1 GHz and has USB2. But availability in India is doubtful.

Pinnacle MovieBox USB 9 $188.00 is known to be available and is a good product for writing VCD/DVD.

Pinnacle Studio Deluxe 9 $188.00 is a better buy if the hard disk is 7200 rpm - can be used for DV also along with analog.