Will my Sony HandyCam work with other software on Vista?

Question

My Sony HandyCam came with the "Picture Package" software that's not compatible with Windows Vista. Since it never worked, I threw the disk out. Sony now offers an updated version of the software, but it requires the original CD to install it! If I'm using a FireWire/iEEE/i.LINK cable, do I even need software or will Vista be able to extract videos itself? Or is there another free/cheap software out there that will do it for me?

Answer 1

If you have a working IEEE1394a port on your computer, then using a firewire cable to connect the DV port of the camcorder to the working firewire port of your computer will work great - and you can "Capture" the video from the miniDV camcorder using MoviMaker.

If your computer does not have a firewire port, then you may be able to easily add one if your computer has available expansion slots.