What you are looking for is a device to capture analog video (VHS, Hi-8, 8mm, VHS-C) and turn it into a digital format so you can do something with it in your computer (edit, add titles and effects export to DVD or video CD's). Well, there are a couple of ways to go about it....
Get a device that specifically digitizes analog video. Google "analog video capture", and you end up with a plethora of hits, an example would be the Pinnacle System's
Dazzle Digital Video Creator which plugs into your USB port. Another, that uses an available PCI slot, is the
Pinnacle Studio AV/DV Version 8 . Plug the RCA plugs from your VHS player or analog camcorder into this device, and capture to your heart's content. I have never used either of these devices, so I can't say how it works. I do have an older device, the Pinnacle DV500 analog/digital capture card, which I still use when I want to edit something and output specifically to VHS. You either have it work flawlessly (and love it) or it has bugs (and you hate it) mine has never failed me in the 5 or so years I've had it. Technologey has moved along quickly, though and you don't necessarily need to use a dedicated device, and here's why.
Most digital video cameras have an "AV input", that is, a place where you can plug in an output from an analog video device, such as a VHS player, which serves as a pass-through digitizer. Then you capture through any IEEE 1394 Firewire card, which can be outrageously inexpensive. The only difference, for the most part, would be if you decide to get one that comes with either fancy editing software, or possibly comes with additional hardware support to do background rendering so you don't have to wait before it outputs back to video, etc. Most of the DV camcorders I've seen at WalMart in the $300-$400 range have analog inputs, although they may not look like the RCA plugs on the back of your stereo or VCR (Those are the red/white/yellow jacks) many use an adaptor cable that have the RCA jacks at one end, then a plug that looks like a Walkman mini-jack at the other end (takes up less space, especially important on a small camcorder....)
So the question is, which way to go? If you have a VHS camera and don't intend on upgrading to a digital video camera ever, then get an analog convertor. If you want the higher resolution of digital video (720x480) for any future projects, then it may ne worth biting the bullet and just buying a DV camcorder and getting a firewire card to use with it. Any questions, please feel free to ask.
Al
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