I have been trying to sort out my oldish Hi-8 and VHS tapes into Adobe Elements.
My preferred way (at the moment) is to copy the tapes onto the hard drive on my Sony DVD recorder, then dub onto a disc. This is because I can then capture in Adobe Elements 3.

The result is good for the video part, but it fails to get the audio! It is on the DVD because I can play the disc in both the PC and my domestic DVD player.

Does anyone use this method of getting anologue video into a computer for editing. I would be grateful for any help or advice.

Thanks

Best to use a digital converter, less loss of quality and you can capture directly to your computer over firewire into Premiere Pro or Elements

You can use either one of two methods, neither of them involve using a stand alone dvd recorder for the reasons outlined in the above reply. Either purchase a capture card or breakout box with analogue video connections on it plus S-video (for your Hi-8 tapes). These usually plug into the USB port on the computer or if you have a Mini DV camcorder with analogue in sockets on it (need to check your instruction manual) then you can connect your VHS deck to the Mini DV and run a Firewire cable from the Mini DV to the computer.

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Better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick any day...

One thing to remember is that Premiere Elements will not capture via USB, only Firewire. So if you go the USB capture card route you will need other capture software. I tried that when I first started converting analog tapes, it did not work well and the quality was less than I could live with.

ADS makes the Pyro Link, Canopus makes a variety of Digital Converters, they connect via firewire and act as a camcorder connected to your PC.

The suggestion to use a MiniDV camcorder as a passthrough device is a good one, if you already have a MiniDV camcorder that allows passthough, that would be the best solution for you.