Sony Handycam Camcorder question?

Question

I have a lot of those home videos on those camcorder tapes and I tried to install the camcorder onto my computer. But it never seem to detect it. I'm not sure what version of the Handycam camcorder but i remember buying it around 2000 to 2001. I dont know what to do. Help??

Answer 1

Which Sony Handycam? Which PC?

MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders need to use firewire. Add a firewire port and buy a cable. Launch MovieMaker or iMovie and Capture or Import.

USB is used only for HDD or flash memory - you need to install the drivers and you need a miniUSB to USB2 cable.

DVD camcorders need to have the disc finalized and the DVD will be ripped in the computer's drawer loading DVD drive.

So... Which camcorder and which computer? Need more detail to provide you more help.

Answer 2

I have the same cam and problem. I was told that no windows operating system well support the Sony Handycam Camcorder.  

Answer 3

I have a Sony mini-dv that uses IEEE1394 (firewire) connector.  It's about from that timeframe.  The computer doesn't detect when you plug it in and turn the camcorder on, the software does all that for you.

It's not like a USB device.

Make sure you editting software uses the firewire capture port.

Otherwise, you can always just go and buy a DVD recorder from Best Buy that can record firewire right to DVD...1000x easier.

Answer 4

You will need a Firewire cable (known as i.Link on your camcorder).   You will probably need a 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire cable, but you need to check your camera and computer t be sure

One end of your cable will probably need to be the small 4-pin connector to plug into the Firewire port on the Digital8 camera.  The Firewire port is marked with the lowercase letter i .  

You will need to find the Firewire port on your computer.  It is normally on the backs of desktops and on the side or back of laptops.  It is normally a single large 6-pin port next to the USB ports.   The other end of your Firewire cable will need to plus into this port.

Once you have the camcorder connected to the computer via Firewire, you can use Windows Movie Maker in Windows or iMovie in iLife on a Mac to capture the video from the camcorder and edit it in your computer.

* If you do not have at least 320gb of storage space on your computer's hard drive, you will need an external hard drive to hold the digital video during editing and to store the final movies.  It is recommended to get an external hard drive with at least 500gb that can plug into your USB port since your camera will be in the Firewire port.  You can now get basic 500gb USB models for $100.  Once the video has been edited and saved in a final movie, you can delete the captured video (from the tapes) to make room for the next project.