How do I get video from VCR to Windows Movie maker (XP)?

Factual Questions
1

I have this Belkin RCA to USB converter. It does nothing to but lock up Windows Movie Maker.
I was told by HP that I needed a digital signal for this to work. Is that true?
I would not mind throwing my whole method out the window and starting over with something more user friendly. Any one out there have any suggestions?

2

I am pretty sure you need to install a TV tuner or video-in card. There may be external devices you can hook to a USB port, but it would be more than just a cable. And a USB device won’t give you the quality a PCI device will.

3

You absolutely need a TV tuner card (or a video card that supports TV in). These start around $100 and go as high as you want to pay.

My advice is to find a service that will convert it for you. It probly wont cost more than $30 per tape, and you’ll get a really quality transfer (well, depending on how good the tape was) because they use the really spiffy and expensive cards. If you buy a budget card the quality will probably be quite poor.

4

I wont doubt the quality transfer, but I tried looking for services once and the only ones I found charged outrageous prices like $30 per half hour with a minimum $60 fee or something crazy like that.

Whatever the price was, it was a rip-off. I couldn’t find anybody that did it cheaper. Plus they wouldn’t do anything copyrighted. I want to transfer some old VHS movies that will never be made into DVDs onto CDs (or DVDs if possible), but I could never get it to work with my TV tuner card.

5

One way:

Get a digital DV camera with analog inputs. Canon Elura is one relatively inexpensive model (inexpensive for a DV camera).

Hook vcr to DV camera. Dub to DV tape.

Hook DV camera to 1394/firewire/ilink port on your computer (you do have one, right?), turn on camera power. Movie Maker pops up. Transfer footage.

6

You don’t always need a tv card. When I bought Xp I bought it with Dazzle USB, $40; but free after rebate at the time. Plugs into USB port. Camera/audio plugs into dazzle. Video gets sent into usb port & I can edit it on Me (same as xp). This is the dazzle usb but its one way only-In. They make a two way one if you want to export to video e.g. vcr.

7

Which card did you use? I have absolutely no problem with my ATI TV Wonder.