Digitizing Old Video Tapes I Can Figure Out Hardware is iMovie the Software

Question

I have some old VHS tapes and some newer DV tapes.
I'd like to get convert all the old tapes so I can share digital copies with members of my family.
I think I can hook up a VCR to my DV camera and then hook that to my iMac. Failing that I'll buy some sort of converter.
Once I figure out the "hardware how?" I wonder about the "software what?" Is iMovie okay for me to work with? In what format do I store the files? bla bla bla. Right now I just want to get digital copies of all my videos; I'll edit files later.
I only want to do this conversion once and would hate to end up with a lower quality compressed file or something not compatible with editing when if I'd set things different I'd be better off if you get my drift.
I know there are many posts in these discussions about importing video -- if anyone can guide me through the advice or offer more insights I'd be grateful.
Thanks

Answer 1

I'd like to get convert all the old tapes so I can share digital copies
I have done lots of that.
I think I can hook up a VCR to my DV camera and then hook that to my iMac
Yes, that is one way.
Failing that I'll buy some sort of converter.
I Like the Grassvalley ADVC300.
I've played around with countless other conversion systems, ranging in price from $79 to $399. Short verison, this is the ONLY unit to own. No dropped frames at all, even with questionable quality tapes, no jitter, great color, excellent sound quality. Zero setup with iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11.
This is a prosumer deck. The time code function is alone worth the price if you have old analog footage. Absolutely NO "Out Of Sync" audio.
ADVC300 is for anyone who wants to do editing and is concerned about quality of color and speed, for the novice it is an incredible gizmo that will restore VHS tapes to a state close to the original fixing midtones, highlights and shadows on the fly. Not only can you simply convert analog to digital you can actually manipulate the signal going in (if you want to).
A bit pricey but it WORKS.
I only want to do this conversion once and would hate to end up with a lower quality compressed file or something not compatible with editing when if I'd set things different I'd be better off if you get my drift.
I do get your drift.
I would use iMovie 06 with iDVD 09/11, why?
iMovie 09/11 uses 'single field processing' meaning every other horizontal line of the video is thrown out, which reduces the sharpness of the footage. iMovie 06 uses ALL of the image to form the video.
If your primary workflow is editing DV clips and making DVDs, iMovie '06 is better suited. Your movie will arrive at iDVD in DV format, which is an ideal match for making a DVD: same resolution, same pixels aspect ratio, and original quality. If you share your movie from iMovie 09/11, it gets re-rendered at 640x480 or less, and then iDVD upscales it back to 720x480. The end result is obviously not as good.
Compared to today's standards DV Video's quality is not that great, so I don't want to lose ANYTHING in my conversion, I have no quality to "spare".
iMovie 06 and iDVD 09/11 is a "lossless" combination.