sob

Since you've gotten zero responses, and since I recently did the same thing, I'll post this. It will become obvious I'm not a techie.

For $29, I got an AverMedia DVD EZMaker. It was internal, but it's worked great.

I originally connected it to my VHS player, but the little cheapo R-L audio adapter that came with it wasn't shielded. I was getting a hum (not the good kind).

I bought a better one (designed for iPods) at Radio Shack. I also noticed that being connected to the cable company also seemed to introduce a hum, so I snagged my kid's VHS player and used it as a tape deck, without it being connected to anything else. Problem solved.

Basically I'm archiving old family VHS tapes, so this isn't a permanent arrangement. Obviously if you want to do this for the long term, the fact that my card was internal is a big sticking point for you.

I know that there are decks that purport to do the same for $200-300. My total expense was around $55, plus blank DVDs. If you have a digital video camera, I've heard that there are methods of accomplishing what you want by using it. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do it.

I have no idea whether or not this reply was helpful. Maybe it was so embarrassingly bad to someone who knows what they're doing that it will generate a better response.