Converting analog to digital for PC video editing - what gives?

A few years ago, I bought a Sony TRV460E because I was told by the
Sony store chain (not actually owned or run by Sony) that it was one
of only 3/4 digital cameras which would also play analog tapes and,
more important convert them to digital info to input them in as
computer video-editing program. The other was the TRV480En and I can't
remember the other two. My TRV460E has been playing up and I was
looking for a replacement. Then, reading through various newsgroups, I
discovered that quite a number of Sony digital camcorders had a
"signal convert function" which apparently does what I want - play
analog Hi8 tapes and convert them on the fly. So what is right? Can
anyone give me the definitive gen?

 

You seem to be getting confused between the short lived Sony
*Digital8* format and those DV *only* cameras that have (what most
call) analogue pass-through - in other words the cameras have analogue
inputs. ONLY Digital8 camera can play 8mm analogue tapes.

In short you will need either one of the following options;

1/. a TV in card that has analogue inputs plus a 8mm analogue
camcorder/player.
2/. a Digital8 camcorder - that has Firewire
3/. a DV camcorder that has analogue inputs - that has *enabled* DV
pass-through
4/. a analogue camcorder and a analogue to DV converter