I want to digitize my Hi-8 analog tapes by direct pass-through through my DV cam. I am using Vista Home Premium, and it seems to have some nice editing/video and DVD creation tools. Is there any reason to buy a third party software to digitize the tapes and record to DVD? Is there any better video quality gained by using third party software as opposed to Vista's video editing function? Note that I am simply wanting to place home movies on DVD; I have no use for intense editing/graphic design/labeling of the home movies. But I do want the best quality video that I can capture and preserve on DVD. If Vista does that for me, there seems to be no reason to buy expensive third-party editing software.

Anyone with actual experience in this regard?

Also, for the Hi-8 movies digitized to DVD, has anyone used an upconverter DVD player to increase their video quality on an HDTV?

Thanks!