Any guides available? or other forums?

Hello, I am just recently getting into capturing and wondered if there are any guides or forums that have detailed instructions/options for newbies. I am mainly looking for the ability to capture HD and normal analog signals, then process eventually to DVD-R w/ out quality loss. It is true that there is no software that will decrypt HD streams? Finally, looking also for detailed comparisons of hardware capture cards,etc. as well. thanks

There is quite a bit of discussion on this, including some guides, on the HTPC and HDTV Recorders forusm on avsforum.com

Somebody made a very interesting over on AVS yesterday. Much of it applies also if you are still using Xvid like I do. - Tom