Help with miniDV camcorder!?

Question

I have a Sony miniDV camcorder which I bought about 3 years ago. It did not come with any software and now that I am trying to convert the miniDV tapes to DVDs, i connect my video camera to my computer via USB and open the different media software that came with the computer and nothing is recognizing my camera. I have vista OS and I've also installed the USB drive so i dont know why its not working. Please help! Thanks.

Answer 1

The USB connection is for transferring stills and maybe video streaming.  For video capture you need firewire.  If your PC hasn't already got one, firewire cards are cheap, readily available and easy to install.  That said, Vista has had a poor track record with firewire.  It may be OK now, but I'd get the card from somewhere with good tech support  - if, as I suspect, you're in the UK, try Novatech.  They have the advantage of being cheap as well!

Once you've captured your video you can use the Vista tools (DVD Maker?) to make your DVD, or look at commercial tools like Sony's Vegas Movie Studio if you want to produce something more professional.

Answer 2

Sony miniDV comes with DV link >> USB. Switch off your camera, connect it to the PC via USB, then swith ON the camera. Make sure you have the PC mode in your camera. Vista would recognize your camera. You may also use Nero software that would extract the movie from camera to PC and then would allow you to burn it to a DVD.

Answer 3

Your dv camcorder needs a firewire connection (ieee 1394) in order to download video, your PC probably did not come with a firewire port, so you will have to buy one and install it, since most computers (except possibly brand new) don't come with a firewire port, your camcorder did not come with a firewire cord so you have to purchase a cord too. Your camcorder did come with a USB cord and that is used for downloading stills from your camcorder.

Answer 4

1st off, usb is for photos, not video, Only use firewire for video, most new pcs have a firewire card. You need capture software to capture video. Movie Maker comes with Vista and will capture video but it won't write it to dvd. Buy all-purpose software like Nero 6. It captures, edits and writes to dvd. Affordable. $20 on ebay. Plug your cam into the firewire port and open your capture software and turn your cam on to play. If your software does not recognize your cam at this point, go to the sony website and download the driver for your model of cam and the Vista operating system and install it.