Firewire problem with Sony Camcorder

ttoomy

I have a Sony DCR-HC18E using DVtape. I have two laptops, one running XP with a firewire port and one running Vista without. On Vista using USB connection the picture is very jerky. On XP, the firewire connection isn't even recognised, either by MovieMaker or by Cyberlink PowerProducer.

My first question is, does that mean the connection (either the cable or the port) is faulty - or do I need a firewire driver? I'm not prompted for a driver when I plug it in, nothing happens at all; instead the computer just starts responding very slowly.

It's a 4-pin to 4-pin wire (called 1394 I think) and I don't know if the wire or the port have ever worked in the past.

If that is a hardware fault, I need advice. I really need to know a couple of other things:

1. If I do use FireWire will it definitely give higher-quality video? Sorry if that's a stupid question.
Assuming it will:
2. Can I fit a firewire port to my other laptop easily? I have seen plug and play units like the Max Value one on Amazon (sorry I'm a new user and not allowed to post links) - but don't know if it will be possible to fit to a laptop. Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Any help is appreciated along with anything else I might not have thought of!

Thanks all

penrhyn

Firewire/IEEE1394/i-Link etc is the preferred interface for downloading digital video, if you choose AVI mode when importing you won't loose any quality but your files will be huge. ( Around 200 Megabytes per minute.)
You do need a reasonably fast PC, your Vista laptop should do fine, if it runs Vista HP then you will have Windows DVD maker as well as Moviemaker.
Firewire cards for laptops readily avalable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-Value-Firewire-Cardbus-MV42321/dp/B001GXR774/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244975409&sr=8-9

ttoomy

@penrhyn

Thanks very much for that, v helpful - although I'm afraid you've overestimated my laptop, there's no place for a PC card...is there an alternative?

Laz123

Try taking out the firewire card rebooting, turn off, reseating card then reboot again. USB is no good for dv file transfer.

Taffybiker

ttoomy wrote: »

@penrhyn

Thanks very much for that, v helpful - although I'm afraid you've overestimated my laptop, there's no place for a PC card...is there an alternative?

There are always alternatives: I have not come across any laptop that doesn't have either a PCMCIA slot, an EXPRESS card slot or a firewire port. Both your laptops are bound to have at least one of these, unless it is a netbook.

Here's what an express firewire card looks like
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221530&C=SO&U=strat15

Before spending any money though, I would trawl the 'net for information on the laptop that has the firewire port, and see if installing a new driver helps.

Moneymaker

I have the DCR-HC22E. Works great with iMovie on my Apple Mac!

starM

Hi,

I have the same camcorder and having problems is downloading videos to my PC. Sony has supplied usb cable with software. I have installed the software but it does not recognise the usb when I connect the camcorder to my PC.

I have normal desktop so not PC Card. I also have no firewire connection. Can you advice what would be an alternative? Is there any usb to Firewire which will work?

Thanks
MS

penrhyn

Buy a Firewire card, USB is not suitable for transferring video.

Taffybiker

You could try Easycap if you have no other choice. There are mixed reviews about its performance though.