The Pinnacle Studio is a consumer-level, video editing software with which you can connect your camcorder to your computer. I connect mine via firewire, open the program, click on the "Capture" tab and it will capture the movie to where you wish on the hard drive, automatically splitting it up into shots. My camcorder is a Sony that has an iLink that most modern camcorders have. Connection is detected by Pinnacle and when you click "Capture" the program starts receiving data from the camcorder. I can highly recommend Pinnacle Video Studio for home-movie editing that will give truly professional results.