video transfer

[wammel]

I want to transfer some treasured home videos (analogue) to digital format. Does anyone know what is the best hardware / software on the market for the home user. I'm not concerned with the cost as I'm looking for the highest quality transfer possible. I know most modern computers are equipped with some basic facilitys for this purpose but I want to do a far superior job than these can accomplish.
Would I be wasting my time and effort in doing it myself or should I opt for a proffesional service?

[Ethel]

I copied all my video recordings to dvd disks by hooking up a stand alone dvd recorder to my tv and video player.

They make exact copies with no discernible diminishment in quality. My dvd recorder has a hard drive as well so a certain amount of editing - cutting out unwanted bits - is a doddle, before 'archiving' to removable disk.

If you want your videos enhancing rather than simply reproducing, then perhaps you should look to the professionals who may be able to correct any faults / distortions and so on. But this will prove expensive.

A dvd recorder costs from around the �60 mark to several hundred. However, it will prove worthwhile especially if you buy one with twin digital tuners as a future replacement for your video recorder.

[ACtheTROLL]

Video cApture is pretty standard - ethel's suggestion will work
If you have an older setup however ... you might have problems encoding mpeg2
and
from what you say you want a little more control ... so a hardware encoder is your best bet coupled with some dedicated software

http://www.dabs.com/ProductList.aspx?SearchTer ms=video%20capture&SearchMode=All&SearchKey=Al l&PageMode=3&NavigationKey=0&SearchType=1

personally I'd go for one of the pinnacle options ( I know ! only one option in stock here ... but you'll find other suppliers easily)

you might also find this whole site useful

http://www.videoforums.co.uk/guide-analogue-67 .htm?vbseourl=analogue.html