Take Your Tech Up a Notch

Six years ago, Web sites, PowerPoint presentations and CD-ROMswere comprised of lots of text, little to no graphics and verylittle color. As the years passed and computing power and modemspeeds increased, content creators began to add graphics, flashanimations and powerful databases. Today, video is bridging the gapbetween static presentations and more dynamic ones. If doneproperly, adding the video dimension to your Web site orpresentation can be a rewarding tactic with a small price tag.

Almost any type of media can be converted to the computer withrelative ease: VHS, MiniDV, 8mm and DVD, to name a few. You mustinstall a special card in your computer in order to connect thevideo players. A fire-wire capture card is about $100 and supportsdevices such as MiniDV or 8mm cameras that have a fire-wire output.To connect a VCR or analog camcorder to the computer, you need aPinnacle capture card, which goes for about $299.