I just put Fedora on a really old drive. It resembles Ubuntu pre Unity. And it found my USB dongle straight away.
The only problem is that I got the copy in Linux Format's DVD and it came with almost no software.
I don't know if that is standard practice with RedHat but their unofficial repository will allow much better recording stuff than Windows does.
Coupled with the Lidl =A320 toy for transferring VCR to digital, it could all come in very handy.