DVD Recorder or WinTV PVR-150

hi! i've got a few questions, and i don't know a whole lot about tv tuners so bare with me please.

i just got a Hauppauge winTV-PVR-150, and i'm not really that satisfied with the video quality. i'm just using the software that came with it to record (WinTV2000). i changed the quality level to mpeg2 12.0 Mbit/sec. is there anything else i can change to increase the quality?

i have basic cable, i set the resolution to 720x480, and the picture quality is pretty grainy. i know it's not gonna have the same quality as on a tv, but i thought it would be closer. even when i plug my vhs player with the rca plug, it's fuzzy. another problem i have is when i'm playing a vhs, the video flickers on the computer, but not on the tv.

i looked into just buying a dvd recorder/player. i don't exactly need all the features of a tv tuner, because i really just want put some vhs home movies onto dvds. would the recording quality be better than a tv tuner? i just don't think i should be losing so much quality from old vhs tapes.

thanks in advance.