Analog to Digital

I need to convert a bunch of old tapes to DVD.
Mostly camcorder movies, but not all.

Should I buy some good quality video capture equipment,
like a pci card or a usb device to capture the video.
and then buy some software to edit and burn to DVD ?

Or should I buy one of those combo Vhs - dvd
recorders, and just dub the vhs to DVD,
then import it into my computer, and buy some
software to edit and burn the DVD's ?

Or should I get a digital movie camera to
import the analog vhs into digital format,
then import into my computer, then buy
software to edit and burn the DVD's ?

Or is there some other way to do this ?

I want to end up with good quality results,
without crappy soundtrack or jerky video
because of dropped frames and such.

I know I may have to spend some money on
equipment, but it still beats having it done.
I have about 40 vhs tapes to do, and that will
cost allot of money to send in and have done,
plus they won't know how I want it edited.

I have enough processor power, hard drive space.
and memory. I just lack the video capture equipment,
and software needed. Although I have premiere
elements 3.0 if that is any good.

Please help me to understand the best way to do
this with good results.

Oh, If anyone knows some good newsgroups,
and or forums to post this in, please let me know

Thanks
Mike

I have a set top box with a hard drive and DVD writer. I have copied VHS tapes to the hard drive, edited out unwanted parts, and copy what I need to a DVD. This will not work with copy protected tapes unless you have a box to remove the copy protection (usually Macrovision).

If you have a PCI card that will accept an NTSC signal (I don't) you can do it all on a PC and easily get around the copy protection.

Mike Nelson wrote:
>
> I need to convert a bunch of old tapes to DVD.
> Mostly camcorder movies, but not all.
>
> Should I buy some good quality video capture equipment,
> like a pci card or a usb device to capture the video.
> and then buy some software to edit and burn to DVD ?
>
> Or should I buy one of those combo Vhs - dvd
> recorders, and just dub the vhs to DVD,
> then import it into my computer, and buy some
> software to edit and burn the DVD's ?
>
> Or should I get a digital movie camera to
> import the analog vhs into digital format,
> then import into my computer, then buy
> software to edit and burn the DVD's ?
>
> Or is there some other way to do this ?
>
> I want to end up with good quality results,
> without crappy soundtrack or jerky video
> because of dropped frames and such.
>
> I know I may have to spend some money on
> equipment, but it still beats having it done.
> I have about 40 vhs tapes to do, and that will
> cost allot of money to send in and have done,
> plus they won't know how I want it edited.
>
> I have enough processor power, hard drive space.
> and memory. I just lack the video capture equipment,
> and software needed. Although I have premiere
> elements 3.0 if that is any good.
>
> Please help me to understand the best way to do
> this with good results.
>
> Oh, If anyone knows some good newsgroups,
> and or forums to post this in, please let me know
>
> Thanks
> Mike