We know what is lurking behind your computer: inputs, outputs, cables and wires. It can really be a nightmare if you need to connect and disconnect your camcorder all of the time, as most of us without a dedicated playback deck in the edit bay do. One really great solution is a Breakout Box or BoB. BoBs vary in quality and utility, from simple cables to rack-mountable steel cases, but all bring your connections out from behind the computer to someplace (anyplace!) more convenient. We especially like the BoB for the Canopus DVStorm Plus ($1,299) that fits in an empty drive bay on the front of your computer. The most affordable BoB we've found comes in Pinnacle's Studio 8 Deluxe package ($300), which is an introductory card that captures both DV and analog footage.

What if you just want to edit a few home movies without opening up your computer to perform major surgery? We have seen the emergence of a number of reliable external capture solutions in recent years. Do not confuse these devices with low-quality Web cams. Products like Dazzle's Digital Video Creator 80 ($70) convert your analog video into a digitally compressed format (usually MPEG-2) that can be sent over a USB connection. Again, MPEG-2 isn't the best format for editing, but for simple no-nonsense, no-installation video capture, this may be the answer.

A number of capture cards do more than just get video onto your computer. Cards like the Pinnacle Pro-ONE RTDV ($1,000) have special hardware that can assist your computer when dealing with challenging video processing tasks. Although computers are getting faster and faster, resulting in shorter and shorter waits for video renders, there is still room for hardware acceleration cards. These cards will bring real-time DV out performance to mid-range computers that formerly felt sluggish. The hardware acceleration features are only coordinated to work with a very limited number of software applications (e.g. Adobe Premiere), so you are out of luck if one of these apps is not your editor of choice.

Laptops are less than ideal editing platforms, but sometimes you just have to hit the road with your video. When you do, look for a device like the OrangeCombo USB 2.0/FireWire card ($119) from Orange Micro. Another nice advantage of adding two FireWire and two USB ports to your computer is that you can then also hook up a roomy external hard disk drive for video storage.

We've already alluded to software a couple of times, but it bears repeating. There obviously isn't much reason to capture video to your computer if you aren't going to edit it or burn it to DVD. Clearly you will need to make sure that the software that you want to work with can edit the video that you capture, but that usually is only an issue if you are working with a unique and special card (check the manufacturer's Web site to make sure or give them a call).

All but the least expensive capture cards come with some sort of editing software. Often, this software is enough for your first few projects, but you may find you want more features and capabilities later on. Professional software is not cheap, however, so look for video cards with attractive bundles. One example is the Matrox RT.X10 ($599), which comes with Adobe Premiere 6.5 ($549 by itself from Adobe). And we haven't even mentioned the other software in the box, including (but not limited to) an MPEG-2 encoder from Ligos, Pixelan effects, Sonic DVDit! SE and Sonic Desktop Smart Sounds. Matrox's software bundle is hardly unique, so before you dismiss a new video card as too expensive, make sure you consider the total package.