Most mini dv cams will have a FireWire™ (IEEE 1394) chord that you can run from the camera into the computer. I know Final Cut Pro and Avid you can decide on compression when importing, I'm not sure about software like Adobe and Movie Maker. When you export your edited content you can then render as .wmv or .mov (or whichever you prefer). I believe that most computers - those running XP or the like - automatically recognize when a camcorder is plugged into the machine and starts the process of importing fairly easily.
If you're using FCP or Avid then the import is a little more difficult but the hardware remains the same in that all you need is the camera that you shot the footage on and a firewire cable.
hope this helps.
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