TV capture is a small yet very popular subset of the ongoing multimedia frenzy. Almost every major video card manufacturer currently markets either cards that are dedicated solely to TV tuning/capture or combination cards that allow the user to view TV and capture it in various video formats in addition to the card's graphics capability. Initially, most of the offerings were internal cards that fit in either an AGP or PCI slot in your desktop PC. More recently with the boom in laptop sales, manufacturers have introduced small, efficient external boxes that are virtually unlimited in their function.

These compact devices offer not only excellent solid state tuners that are quick and reliable, but also a vast array of capture features allowing you to use your computer much in the same vein as the considerably more expensive devices such as TIVO™. Video editing software of various types is usually packaged with the device to allow the user to manipulate the video capture to his/her liking.