Converting Analog Video
August 14, 2007 by Bruce Walls
Possibly you have lots of analog video filed away from your days using an old VHS analog camcorder which is perfectly okay for using on your website but is not in digital format. Maybe you even want to save all your old work in the new, more flexible digital format.
What you need is an analog to digital conversion unit also known as a digitizer. A [tag-tec]digitizer[/tag-tec] unit goes between your analog camcorder and computer and has a variety of connections for capturing the video and audio from your camcorder and a FireWire output for sending the digitized data to the computer.
The conversion unit may have its own power supply or take power from your computer once connected. Depending on the camcorder the connection from the camcorder to the unit will either be with separate audio and video cables or an S-Video connection. The conversion unit should come with all the necessary cables and should be able to match the connections on your camera with the ones on the conversion unit. In most cases the connections are color coded to make connection easier.
There are various bi-directional digital to analog converters on the market covering a wide range of prices and quality. It will be up to you to match your requirements to your budget. This type of unit can convert both ways and is ideal for trans coding to & from VHS or any analogue material and DV. One of the main world wide manufacturers is DataVideo. Visit their websites at www.datavideo.us and www.datavideo.info for the UK and Europe. 
An alternative to conversion units is an analog video capture card. This card fits into an empty slot internally in your computer. They vary in price and quality as much as external conversion units and again there is a choice of brands. The cards come with varying levels of editing software and check this link for more information.
I have used analog in this article but also analogue is acceptable especially in the UK. As in many other categories there is a different spelling in the USA as opposed to other parts of the English speaking world.
[...] Analog: Data recorded as a wave with infinitely varying values. They are usually electromechanical recordings and suffer from generation loss. [...]
[...] Analog: Data recorded as a wave with infinitely varying values. They are usually electromechanical recordings and suffer from generation loss. [...]