How do I record stuff on TV to my computer?

Can anyone recommend a good device for capturing video from the TV for transfer over to the computer?

• Okay, I forget what these things are called, but basically you use them to record what's displayed on your TV, and transfer the recording over to your computer in a format it understands, like AVI or MPEG. I know these CAN come in the form of a PCI card that you install into a desktop PC, but ideally I'd like something a bit more mobile. I want one so I can record video game sessions on my Xbox 360 and make montages and stuff. Can anyone recommend a good, dependable one that just works?

• Answer:

  If you are referring to a TV tuner, they also come in USB models which are easy to install and move from computer to computer. With a TV tuner you can easily record TV on your computer using either the software that comes with the tuner or using Windows Media Center. You can then replay, edit, etc. the video file on your computer and upload it to YouTube or burn it to a DVD. I am not sure if you can record Xbox 360 sessions with a TV tuner but could record them using screen capture software. Free screen capture software is available from: http://www.jingproject.com/ , http://www.debugmode.com/wink/, http://www.smallvideosoft.com/screen-video-capture/, http://www.virtualdub.org/