getting dvd disc into my editing programs

[mckuinsw]

i used a dvd recorder to put all my old vcr family tapes on to dvd.
now when i try to get it in various editing programs i have such as pinacle and vegas video, i cannot get it in. it is either for camcorders only or if i try to get it in through the dvd, it says wrong format.
what to do?
sandy

[Ian in Northampton]

You're going to need to convert all your DVDs to a format that's editable - probably .avi. Do a Google on 'convert dvd avi' and you'll see that there are lots of choices. (At one time, I had the same problem as you - wanting to convert lots of old VHS family movies to DVD - and considered the DVD recorder solution, but I ended up not doing it for precisely this reason). DVD files are not, AFAIK, 'natively' editable. Which is one of the reasons why the people who use this forum are against the new camcorders that record direct to DVD - if you're planning to edit what you record, you're just going to spend a lot of time converting the DVD files - whereas with miniDV, you get the .avi file you need.

[mckuinsw]

wow wish i had known this before.