Yes guys aother newbie needs help- Am about to buy DVD editing software but am not sure which one to buy. Computer specs are Intel 4 @ 2 gig, 160 Gig Hard, 1 meg RAM. Have edited VHS tapes in the past using analouge mixing and S/FX equipment but now need to upgrade to all digital. Source material will be either VHS tapes or if easier I can burn the tapes to DVD + or - .
Software will need to be able to overlay audio, fade in/out and on the visual side I need to fade in/out, swipe, dissolve, pic in pic, chroma F/X , title overlay, animations etc.
OK guys, be honest, can it do the job or will I be effin at it after two days. Is there better software out there

it really depends on your budget. how much are you willing to spend?
do you need a nle or just a dvd authoring solution? wasn't a dvd authoring solution bundled with your dvd burner?

The specs you posted are pretty good (but I do hope you meant 1 gig of RAM instead of 1 meg Wink ). Here's what you need to know:
For viditing you need 2 separate hard-drives. One as your system drive and the other one, as large and fast as you can afford, for video work (capturing and rendering). Also, some people add a third hard drive, usually external, to archive their projects (that's not really necessary for you right now).
Firewire ports (iLink, IEEE1394 etc.) are a must. Having one on the front panel of the case would be nice, too. If you don't have firewire ports on your mobo, you must get a firewire card (from $ 15). But that's only gonna help you with digital transfer. For analog capture you need a dedicated capture card (from $ 150). That's why I recommend you an integrated solution, such as the Pinnacle Studio AV/DV 9 Deluxe (analog and firewire inputs and outputs, and break-out box) which costs less than $ 200 and comes with Pinnacle Studio 9 Plus, a NLE which meets your requirements (including PIP and chroma). There are lots of options, but I think this would suit you best.