In article <6gjlvv$43q@argentina.earthlink.net>, jhightower@earthlink.net says...

>This may be the wrong places to ask, and if so I'd appreciate a pointer to
>another more appropriate newsgroup, please.

Maybe r.v.desktop...;-)

>There's a project I wanna do ... making family history/stories videotapes
>that will be used to pass along same before the people who know 'em are no
>longer available... and I'd like some input into the the equipment y'all
>think is best to use, seeing as how I want to make this affordable for the
>families involved. That seems to be, in my mind at this time at least,
>between $400 and $1000 tops, with the difference being editing time and
>length of video involved.
>
>I want this to be available to the folks who want it on a tape they can plug
>into their VCRs and view. MAYBE also an option for a CD, depending on length
>... whadya all think?

The VHS tape as the final product seems the most logical - the quality of
play off CD isn't as good, and how many people will have the equipment to
play the CD video...?

>I'm considering a Sony VX-1000 camera, and editing it all with a SparkPlus
>setup on my puter. From what I've read, that sounds like it might be the
>best to learn and would make it the quality I'd be comfortable with.

Yes, though even a cheaper single-chip DV camcorder may serve your purposes
(though I would choose one that permits using an accessory microphone).

>Can I transfer the video I edit back to VCR tape? What additional equipment,
>if any, do I need to do that?

Just a VHS VCR - copy the edited DV material from the computer to the
DV camcorder (you can do it multiple times to make multiple masters for safe-keeping). You can then make VHS copies from a DV camcorder master
tape (or directly from the computer - it doesn't matter...) for
family distribution.

>Will the video quality suffer when I do, and
>if so, what other setup(s) would you recommend?

The quality is limited by VHS - it has about 1/2 the horizontal
resolution of good DV original. So far, there is no other format
in common use that would improve on this, unless you want to have
video laser disks made (could kill a lot of the budget, though...).

>Is there anything else you might suggest I consider?

Even though I am a VX-1000/Spark enthusiast, I think if this will be
your only project, and if you don't need complex editing, Hi-8 with
assemble-editing may serve your purposes more cheaply (some newer
Hi-8 camcorders provide some assemble-edit facilities).

>I appreciate all suggestions you all might make, and thanks for your time.
>John jhightower@earthlink.net

You're welcome!
David Ruether
http://www.fcinet.com/ruether