Fran: I use a medium priced Panasonic DV camera that plugs straight in to the pc via a usb cable OR a firewire cable. The camera plays back my footage from its tape, and I can see what I've got in realtime on the Pinnacle preview screen. In fact, Pinnacle gives you onscreen controls to operate the camera once you've plugged it in and swtiched it on!

More modern cameras now use a DVD-RW disc that I think you can just pop into your pc's burner drive.

And I haven't used any software other than those I've mentioned.

Available on Amazon for the Kindle E-Reader

All the Woes of a World by Jonathan Icknield aka The Bryster

And in my final hours - I would cling rather to the tattooed hand of kindness - than the unblemished hand of hate...