Destructive editting workflow suggestions, please.

Question

Like many, am converting dozens of VHS to digital, but would like to intensely edit them down. Would like to do the final editing with FCE, but its non-destructive editing will clog my HD's with hours of useless footage.
Which app/apps do I use to import from VHS, edit destructively, then export keepers to FCE for final production? I've got the horsepower and would like the final quality to be as good as possible.
Much obliged.

Answer 1

The choice is actually a compromise between your time and how much hard drive space you can afford. And I think you're doubling your work or more if you capture in some other app first if you really intend to use FCE for editing. Personally, I think hard drive space is a lot cheaper than my time.
To import VHS you will need an analog-digital converter (another subject if you need help there). The converters are non-controllable devices which means you have to capture using Capture Now. While you could conceivably jog your tapes back & forth enough to capture individual clips (theoretically saving hard drive space) you will spend an enormous amount of time capturing clip by clip.
It is much much faster, and easier, to capture the entire tape at once (or, say, half a tape ... 60 mins at at time) and then in FCE pick & choose which segments you actually want. Then, if you really want to, you can export your selected clips to QT Movie 1 by 1 (as self-contained QT movies) thereby giving yourself individual clip files of only the material you really want to keep.
There are other apps like Foottrack and iDive that will enable you to capture video but you face the same time issues as you would capturing with FCE or iMovie.