Go all digital

[jamepc]

I'm tired of all our VHS and Super8 tapes everywhere! Here's what I would like to do:
I want to convert all our tapes to digital format to store on our hard drive. I would only burn the ones we watch often. I was looking at Pinnacle Moviebox to convert the tapes.
I want to be able to watch the hard drive stored media on our HDTV (I know it won't be HD but just stating it's a Sony TV with a ton of connection options) without having to burn them to a DVD first.
I want to burn some of our favorite songs from CD and store them on my hard drive.
And finally, (but not necessarily) watch and record TV through my computer.

Here's some questions I have:
I have XP now but will be getting a new laptop with Vista early next year. How do I store and organize my media right now with XP? Windows Media Player?
Does Media Center (and Vista) use Windows Media Player to store and organize digital media or is it totally different?
How about watching and recording TV? I know I need a TV Tuner card but it can't tune in the"scrambled" channels. Or is it easier to just use my separate STB/PVR?

Any other tips are appreciated!

Thanks for the help!

Jamie

[aedipuss]

digital storage is a massive undertaking. unless you are willing to invest in terabytes of storage it isn't doable. maybe get a miniDV cam with passthrough and convert old stuff to dvd one at a time, might be an option. and you'd end up with a digital cam to boot.

[Krispy Kritter]

To store it now, just capture it, name it, and put it in a folder on your HD, just like any other file. I would recommend having external drive(s) to store backup copies of all your files (like you should be doing now for all of your important stuff). Nothing like a computer crash or HD failure to waste hundreds of hours of processing time and losing all of your video.

As for you "TV" questions, do a search and some reading on HTPC. You can get a start here: http://www.htpcnews.com/
It is a bit more involved than just plugging in a new video card.

[jamepc]

To store it now, just capture it, name it, and put it in a folder on your HD, just like any other file.

Krispy,


Thats how we store all our pictures now, in an organized file system in Explorer. Any advantages to using Media Player or even Media Center Edition?

Thanks again for any help!