I just went through learning-curve hell with this. Here's the fishhook: your camcorder records in ANALOG(RGB). Your computer does not understand this "language", so you must convert what is coming out of your C/Corder to DIGITAL (1s and 0s) so that your computer can work with it. You have two (2) only choices:
> Try to do this with Software only (Pinnacle, Ulead Studio, etc.) or
>Try to do this with a capture card that has a chip dedicated to this task.
With Software you will end up tearing your hair out and cursing the day you ever decided to try this.
Go with: Hauppauge 250 PVR capture card, which comes with WIN2000 PVR capture software.
Do not buy anything from K-World. I went that route and wasted my money and my dozens of hours sitting in front of my computer.
I am at work and it's 5 - time to go. I will check back in tonight, and if you are interested I will fill you in further. In fact, I am capturing more footage tonight, editing in Pinnacle10 and burning to DVD.
later...
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime;
Then industry pollutes the water and kills all the fish.