Sony RDR GX3 to PC for editing in Pinnacle Studio 9

First posting !
Didn't intend to appear angry just a bit frustrated by my own incompetence.!
I am new to this so please bear with me. I have a Sony RDR GX3 recorder which I have used to transfer some old family camcorder tapes (from VHS compact tape - no longer have the camera) to -RW Disc (Video format). When I try to access the discs on my PC the format is not supported from Power DVD or Pinnacle Studio 9. My PC is running Windows XP SP2 with 1Gz of memory, and over 100Gb of Hard disk space.
I have read some of the threads which suggest that it is possible, but am stumped as to how to get the PC to access the files on the Discs.
Should I have recorded them in VR mode in order to get the PC software to recognize them ?
A simple guide would be very useful,since I am finding it confusing trying to absorb all the information from the different sites that I have looked at, and have come back to these forums since they seem to be helpful for beginers. Any info to help me access the DVD disc on my PC would be a great help.