Multiple camera simultaneous capture

[annalynngus]

Hi folks,

I know there are a lot of ways in which to do what I need to do and would appreciate some advice and thoughts on what is best.
I have a lenovo y500 laptop that has a webcam built in and I'm running windows 8.1.
I need to record some interviews so what I need is to be able to have two cameras recording simultaneously and ultimately I need to be able to display the interview happening simultaneously on a split screen. Sound quality is important also.
Any suggestions for ways to go about this? Suggestions for hardware and software I need?
Please let me know if you need additional information.

I thank you all in advance.

[smrpix]

If you don't need to stream live, just record with two cameras, load the video into any decent NLE, sync up the cameras in your timeline, then reposition side by side.

If you're planning to do this live it's a huge can of worms. What's your budget?

[annalynngus]

I don't need to do this live. I'm recording interviews to be reviewed later. So this solution sounds like it will work.
Any suggestions regarding software? I'm looking at Avid Pinnacle studio, Magix Movie Edit Pro, and Vegas. Looks like they all support multiple cams.
I know from using sound forge and acid that Vegas is pretty easy to use. No experience with the others though.

[smrpix]

You don't need actual multicam capability to make this work, just two video tracks.

I sometimes feel like a Sony shill, but I'm genuinely impressed by Sony Movie Studio (Vegas' little brother) which can be had for around $40. Pinnacle's good too.

[annalynngus]

Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice. Very very helpful. I know squat about this so it is really useful to hear from folks with experience.
I think I'm going to go ahead with Sony's Movie Studio. Looks like it will really fit the bill for what I need - and without a big bill!
So I'm wondering now, if I use the cam on my laptop and buy a Zoom Q2HD will there be a problem with the laptop being low def and the zoom being HD?
Also, the zoom has a place to plug in an external mic and I was wondering if the sound from the mic just goes to whatever the zoom is recording or does it make a separate sound file?

Seriously appreciate this folks. And thanks for not being douchey and tearing me a new one. Have seen a lot of that on other forums. This seems like a nice forum.

[pandy]

Perhaps ffmpeg?