Hey fellas, new to these forums, and very new to video editing. Before i get into the how's and whatnots about the editing itself, i have a major question. I own a video camera, its a Samsung SCL810 8mm Camcorder. Its got an SVideo slot so i can connect it to a TV to watch, and im almost very sure i cannot bring video from the cam to the pc without any aditional equipment. So i ask, what would i need to buy, in order for that to be possible? Software? Cards? Drivers? a completely different, non PC setup? I don't have a major budget, but at the same time, i wouldnt want to go with any "Well this WILL work,, but it'll suck" equipment. Although, this will probably be a hobby that will fade in and out, id like to play around with it, if its affordable.

Thanks so much in advance fellas!



EDIT: Also, it never occured to be, but im not quite sure how old my camera is, so in which it may be cheaper for a digital camera instead of hardware to get my old one working, not to sure, all opinions welcome, any knowledge is appricated

Depending on what your budget is and the spec of your computer you may have a few options open to you.

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

Well budget is debatable, i dont have a set budget as of yet, and i really don't know the costs for this type of thing. For example, i wouldnt know if $200 is way to much for this type of thing, or no where near enough, so i dont even have an idea on what kind of money id need to spend. As for the computer, Ive got an AMD 64 6000+ Dual Core processor, 2 gigs of PC6400 ram, 300 gig HD, GeForce 7950 512mb video card.

Well your computer seems to be up to the job so no worries there. My own personal preference would be to purchase a Mini DV camcorder with AV in sockets (including S-Video) and the obligatory DV out (Firewire). My reasons for this are twofold, the first being you have analogue tapes that you wish to convert to digital and then edit them on your computer. With a Mini DV camcorder and the correct sockets as mentioned above you can do analogue to digital converting outside the computer rather than inside.

This takes a big strain off the computer as using a capture card or breakout box would result in the computer having to convert the video and also record it onto the hard disk at the same time. Also, capture cards and breakout boxes can be unpredictable and it may mean a few trips back to the shop where you purchased it, if it doesn't work. So in that case I would go for the Mini DV camcorder option and secondly you get a new digital camcorder. You may have to do a bit of searching perhaps on ebay (buyer beware), to get the appropriate camcorder with a 200 dollar budget.

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

Does your camcorder have USB or Firewire output?