analogue video to dv converters

[oldguy]

Trying to find one that works directly with windows movie maker, to capture then edit old analogue footage and burn onto DVD.

Any recommendations ?

Found Canopus ADVC55 which claims to be compatable with Movie Maker, however at £150 it's a bit steep !

thanks

[MarkE19]

The Canopus ADVC converters are about as good as they come and are highly recommended by many users on this forum. They will work with any editing software as the PC just sees them as a digital camcorder. All you need to do is disable 'device control' in Movie Maker etc as otherwise it will try to control the tape movement, which it can't do with an analogue camcorder etc.
Personally I have never used the Canopus converters because I have a Matrox RT2500 analogue & DV capture card with hardware codecs on it. This is a better way to go, but will cost a lot more money, so perhaps not for you.
Another route to consider is useing a DV camcorder to do the conversion. Any cam that has the AV-in capabilities should do a very good job, and if you already have a cam with this feature then it will also be a free option. However most camcorders sold in the UK do not have AV-in, so you would need to check the specs closely.
IMO you should steer well clear of the cheap USB2.0 converters as these often offer poor quality and sound & audio sync problems. If however it will be used for just a few projects and high quality is not top priority then they may well be good enough for you. They are normally sold with software included, so compatability with Movie Maker is not a problem.

Mark.