Consider how audio affects the feel of a video program. Honking car horns on a busy street; crashing surf and calling seagulls at a beach; a howling wolf on the moors — these sounds help us identify a place as quickly as our eyes can, if not quicker....

Once all your settings are, uh, set, you’re ready to start capturing. (Finally!) I recommend that you rewind the tape in your VCR or camcorder to at least 15 seconds before the point at which you want to begin capturing. Then follow these steps:Click the Start Capture button at the bottom of the Studio capture window. The Capture Video dialog box appears.Enter a descriptive name for the capture.If you want to automatically stop capturing after a certain period of time, enter the maximum number of minutes and seconds for the capture.Press Play on the VCR or camcorder.Click Start Capture within the Capture Video dialog box. The capture process begins, and you’ll notice that the green Start Capture button changes to the red...

To make sure Studio is ready to capture analog video instead of digital video, click the Settings button at the bottom of the capture window. The Pinnacle Studio Setup Options dialog box appears. Click the Capture Source tab to bring it to the front....

Video converters are kind of neat because they don’t require you to break out the tools and open up your computer case. As their name implies, video converters convert analog video of your visit in Aztec ruins to digital before it even gets inside...

The best quality in analog video capture is available if you use a special video-capture card. Analog-capture cards are available at many computer and electronics retailers. A capture card actually connects to the motherboard inside your computer...

Getting your computer ready to capture analog video is a lot like getting ready to capture digital video. Before you can capture analog video, you have toSet up your capture hardware. I’ll show you what hardware you need and how to set it up in...

If the capture process stops before you want it to, your culprit could be mechanical. Check the following:Did you forget to rewind the camcorder tape? This is a classic “oops” that happens to nearly everybody sooner or later. Is your hard disk...

Video usually has about 30 frames per second, but if the capture process doesn’t go smoothly, some of those frames could get missed or dropped, as video pros call it. Dropped frames show up as jerky video and cause all kinds of other editing problems,...

When you click Play or Rewind on the camera controls in your video-capture software, your digital camcorder should respond. If not, check the following items:Check all the obvious things first: Are the cables connected properly? Is your camcorder...

Apple’s iMovie doesn’t offer quite as many capture options as Pinnacle Studio, but the capture process is simple and effective nonetheless. In fact, you can set just two capture options. To adjust capture preferences, choose iMovie➪Preferences....

When you’ve finally got your capture settings just the way you want them, you’re ready to capture. To do so, simply follow these steps:Connect your camcorder to your FireWire port as described in the previous section.In Pinnacle Studio, click the...