Wide World of Women

How much compression is there from the actual HD broadcast of a show to the DVR recording to the image capture

A DVR doesn't compress anything. It saves in the same compression as the origiabroadcast signal which for most cable in the U.S. is mpeg-2 and for Directv is h.264. The DVR recording is the exact same quality as live.

I have a fios HD DVR
Can I record a show on the DVR and move it to the computer through a capture card? I guess I need an HDMI input on the card since the standard cable wire won't make a difference
How does the move happen? Is it a quick file transfer or does the whole show have to be moved (and is it possible to move to parts of the show and record what I want)

Most importantly what type of recording does the DVR record...like ts or avi or whatever because if I have to change to another format and it loses quality then that's just as bad

On my Hauppauge HD-PVR you can save to .TS (AVCHD setting), .M2TS (PlayStation3 setting), or .MP4 (Xbox360 setting). I think it's the same for their new Colossus card.

As far as I know, you can't get videos from your Fios DVR to your computer. You will need to get a capture device or card. Your DVD recorder will not record in HD. I would probably reed through the first couple of pages in this tech support forum because a lot of info has already been posted about capture devices, software, and capping methods. Post a question if something isn't clear.