Ultimately, it depends on what you are really trying to do.

If all you want to do is chop bits out for example, I would simply copy to dvd via your recorder, rip the dvd to your PC and then use something like DVD Shrink to cut out the unwanted bits.

With this approach you don't really have to worry about frame rates, picture resolution etc. as you recorder will only have a limited set of recording e.g. 1,2,4 hour modes. For most people 2 hour mode is normally good enough.

What you must undertand is that the files copied from the recorder are in mpg (DVD) format and are in a compressued format.

If you want to do more sophistcated editting e.g. changing colours/hues, adding extra graphics etc. you might want to edit an uncompressed recording (AVI) file. Here recording via a PC could be a better option as you woukld have more control.

Bear in mind that videotapes are generally only at a resolution equivalent to a 4 hr DVD recording. Recording in AVI format is probably pointless. I cannot say for sure re. digital 8 format from a camcorder but I suspect it cannot be better quality than 2 hr DVD mode.

To summarise - there is generally little point in re-recording at a higher resolution than the original source. Thus simply recording to a DVD recorder direct will suffice in most cases.

PS - most dvd recorders will not copy macrovision protected videotapes but many PC cards do not seem to care.