2 camera questions...?

Question

1. What is a good digital camera with great quality that isn't too big?

2. What do you use to record a TV with a good image (like people do on YouTube)? I believe it is a cord, and if so where could I get it?

Answer 1

1) Depends on what you define as being too big.  Compared to a Canon 1Ds Mark III, even a Canon Digital Rebel seems like a small camera.  Personally, I think the Canon Powershot G9 is a great camera and real small.  I take it often times when I want to "look less professional" but don't want my images to suffer much.  It's a great P&S camera.  You may think that is too big, at which point, I'd say one of the Canon Powershot A series cameras. If you want an ultra-compact, you're gonna have to lower your quality expectation.

2) Actually what you need is a TV tuner card for your computer.  There are some that are USB, such as the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950Q and there are others that use PCI or PCI Express. You basically plug your antenna or cable into it and it records the channel directly. If you're trying to record from satellite or digital cable, you'll need something more like the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1950.

Disclaimer:  You have the right to receive the broadcast and can even record it for personal use.  A lot of what you see on YouTube really shouldn't be there, because most people haven't secured the rights to rebroadcast it.  A TV tuner or video capture card is perfectly legal, but you really need to be careful with what you do with the files it generates.