well here is what you can do. first of all, get a program called MGI Video Wave or Pinnacle studio. With MGI you can convert any type of movie file to .AVI(or any other type of file) which is required if you want to watch it on TV by only using a digital camera. (if you have a Firewire card and a digital camera you can export the video to the digital camera then to the TV. You can also do the same process backwards to throw VHS tapes into your computer.)

MGI and Pinnacle Studio are by far the easiest to use when it comes to video editing. So get those if you are just starting.