We can divide capturing devices into two main groups: internal devices and external devices. Internal devices need to be installed on an empty PCI slot on the motherboard. We can categorize them as:
1. TV tuners with composite and/or S-Video input: They are cheaper and function better than professional capture cards. Pinnacle PCTV, V-Stream PCI TV-PVR Tuner, and Hauppauge PVR250 TV Tuner Card are examples of such capture cards.
2. Graphics card with integrated video capture chip: Such cards have some extra input ports for receiving analog signals (such as ATI All-in-Wonder).
3. FireWire (IEEE1394/iLink) cards: These cards are usually used for digital video capture. These devices have an internal chip for video compression and the captured data is provided using the DV format.