Interested in burning DVD's -- couple few questions

Greetings Earth People

I want to copy video footage to my pc (not a digital camera) and then make a DVD (for friends not pros.) I would like the DVD to play in a standard home DVD player, maybe with the ability to look at still shots, or footage, with background music.

I'm looking for recommendations for all aspects of this.

Hardware:
Video Capture?
I assume any Video Capture card with the right interface for the video camera and my pc will work. Recommendations?
DVD Burner?
I've never owned one. Is there anything in particular to look for if I want to be able to play the burnt DVDS in my home DVD player?

Software:
I'm running XP Pro on what I think is a decent machine. Dell Dim 3000, P4 3 Ghz, 800 fsb, 1 G RAM
I guess I need 2 programs? 1 for video editing, 1 for DVD mastering? What is your take? Is there anything I need? Can you think of any freeware/shareware for this? Or is it worth to pay for someother software. I can already hear "Buy a Mac" and I'm trying to do this with out spending a fortune so I don't want to do that. This is just an amateur project.

Anyway - thanks in advance to all who contribute. If I've overlooked anything obvious, don't hesistate any unsolicited advice. No worries!

Muchos Gracias!

 

What is the video footage on now? DV? 8mm? VHS-C?
What type / model of camera? or don't you have the camera?

 

Its my friends and I don't have it here, but I'm pretty sure its a recent model 8mm.

 

Most modern camera have "i-link" or firewire - you plug them directly into your PC and transfer the movie. If not you'll need a capture card - they are usually not to expensive - Aver is on that comes to mind.
Ulead makes afordable movie software that does the capturing & editing - all the stuff you want and they also have some DVD authoring solutions as well.
For a dvd burner - go for a DVD +/-R. *most* standalone dvd players will play +R a few want -R & brand NEC or LiteOn I'd say - in that order.
Goto videohelp.com and snoop around there too.