[Sheks]

Hi,

I have just finished upgrading/rebuilding my ageing pentium II 350MHX PC with a 2.4GHZ P4 pc running Win XP Pro, 256mb ram, G-force4 Ti 4200 Grafix card, 20Mb hard drive. I am considering a Sony PCR8 DV camcorder and some sort of "cheap" editing/capturing package (possibly something from Pinnacle as I have used a very old version of Studio in the past with a DC10 plus analogue capture card).

Is there anything I should be aware of as to compatibilities or extra hardware/software before I purchase the camcorder.

We have an old Canon Hi8 camcorder, am I correct in thinking that the PCR8 camcorder has an analogue in function that will allow me to copy my analogue footage to DV for editing via firewire in the digital domain?

Are there any compatibilty issues with XP pro and Pinnacle Studio software/capture cards that I should be aware of.

Thanking you in anticipation of a response.

Colin

[MarkE19]

Is there anything I should be aware of as to compatibilities or extra hardware/software before I purchase the camcorder.

4 minutes of DV footage takes 1Gb of disk space
You will need more disk space. Get an additional disk and use it ONLY for your video footage (no programmes).
Search for a utility called EndItAll. This prog. stops all unwanted background progs that cause problems with editing (anti virus, firewall etc.). This is a free download and is very handy.

We have an old Canon Hi8 camcorder

Why not look at the Sony Digital8 camcorders. They use 8mm tapes and will replay your 8mm recordings directly.