Transfer videotapes to my hard drive

Can anyone tell me how to transfer videotapes to my hard drive? I have a Dell Inspiron 9400 with a "TV port" (S-video) on the back and an ATI graphics card. In the owners manual it talks about playing TV through your computer but I don't see anything about VCRs or copying. I have Nero Essentials installed which has allowed me to make copies of DVDs but I'm a little confused about what sorts of cables, etc. I need to make this work. Or perhaps someone knows of any easier way? (Other than a VCR to DVD copy machine?) Help. Thanks.

 

I don't know the answer but I know people who deal with nothing but video related stuff. Give this site a look. DVDRvideoHelp.com

 

What you need is a capture card, such as the Haupauge WinTV, or other analog to digital card. You then hook up the video out from your vcr to the video in of the capture card. Then, you need a program such as Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere, etc, to record the video to your hard drive.