Need help encoding

I have a question regarding encoding of TV programs. A friend of mine asked me to digitally tape some TV programs for him, but I have never done something like this before. Could someone help me in the right direction?

For info, I use a Toshiba Qosmio laptop with TV connection. If possible, I'd like to encode in .avi format.

Thank you in advance.

Sorry to bump but nobody has an idea how to go about this?

I've never done any video capturing. Check Doom9 if any of their guides can help you.
http://www.doom9.org/

thanks, i'll give it a try!