7777 - methinks ya need a critter known as a "video capture device".
I have one - which is a free standing tower like thing, about six inches tall - feed it with audio and/or video signals from whatever source I feel like (camcorder/video recorder/dvd player/casette player/record turntable - anything that you want to connect).
It grabs the signal, stuffs it on the hard drive and then opens an editing package.
My particular beast is made by a company called
Dazzle . It works a treat.
Some of the video boards - the "daughter board" that your computer monitor plugs directly into - have video out (for watching the output on a tv instead of a computer monitor), some also have video in - which will do the same as my Dazzle beastie.
"Video Capture" is the phrase for the search!!