I didn't know you were going to do PVR activities. Thats why you need that horsepower. I tried capture via firewire on MiniDv and even with my main system it was barely chugging along. Video capture and process is a hog in CPU and hard disk. No PVR activities for me. But if I did PVR activities could I just add external case firewire drives since I got 4 firewire inputs? As with capture I do have 1 PCI slot at back and put in a Sigma Design XCard which is hardware MPEG2.
As with the TV tuner with inputs check this out. I have been using these for 2 years with much success.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/video_box_nextvisionn6.htm
I personally use the entry level VB50HRTV for $150 CDN
The N5 is $220 CDN and the N6 is like $600+
