I am new using Studio12. What is the best format alternative to capture analog video from handycam 8, AVI or MPEG? I have enough HDD space.

DV-AVI. Less processing, preserves as much quality as possible. That's what I would do.

However, if you are in a hurry, DV-AVI will always need transcoding the mpeg-2 in order to make a DVD. With the correct choice of capture and burn bitrates (and assuming you aren't going to add global effects to your project) you can reduce you DVD creation times considerably by capturing in mpeg-2.

Handycam 8 (like VHS?) isn't good quality to start with, so I doubt if you would ever notice the difference, other than the possibilty of working in mpeg giving you more "sound out of sync" issues.

I understood that best alternative is DV-AVI. Because I'm not an expert, could you clarify your second and third paragraph. Thnaks for your quick answer.

Before I can clarify any more, you need to explain a little about what you are trying to do and your preferences.

Is rendering time an issue for you?

How important is the final quality of your product?

How good is the initial quality of your tapes?

Are you intending to make DVDs from the files you capture?

There is lots of reading to be had on this forum. Try using the search facility. If you want to know more about the differences between the various forms of compression, you might also want to consider searching Wikipedia.

Thanks a lot for your answers. I apologize if my questions are stupids.

I have tapes of analog video taken by sony hadycam Video 8. So my first goal is capture those videos into DV and save them in DVD and then make some domestic projects with the best  possible quality.