You need something to turn the analog video signal into a digital video signal. You can use a PCI card (capture card) or you can use an external converter (like a Canopus or Pinnacle box) that connects to your computer with a USB or firewire. With the PCI card, you plug an analog cable into your computer and the computer will perform the conversion. With the external hardware converter, the converter performs the conversion and sends a digital signal to your computer. You will need capture software for either option. Also plenty of free, contiguous hard drive space - that is a big cause of dropped frames.