I have an older sharp camcorder which I am probably going to get rid of but beforehand I have a lot of taped video footage on mini DV video cassettes that I would like to transfer to my PC ,edit it and then put onto a DVD. I am not sure how to attach the camcorder to my PC. I am able to connect it with the supplied RS-232 connector cable but I am only able to capture still images. Do I need a firewire cable and if so where will this connect to on my camcorder. Sorry if I sound a bit dim but I am a newbie to video editing but I am definitely developing a keen interest
Well I have bought 2 firewire cables one to connect to my laptop and one to connect to my desktop pc. The one that connects to laptop fits perfectly although the only problem I am having is that when the videostarts to upload it keeps crashing.And the bit that has uploaded won't play with WMM. The 6 to 4pin cable that I have bought for my desktop pc doesn't fit into the socket at the back of my PC. Back to square one
The understanding of the proper terminology will go a long way here. First, what you are trying to do is CAPTURE the video from your camcorder. Second, does your laptop even have a firewire port on it? Without looking at your computer, you can find out. Go to Device Manager, and see if you have any entries for IEEE 1394 Bus host controllers. If you have that entry, click on the + sign to the left, and see what it says. Your laptop connection will probably be a 4 pin connection, and your camcorder is probably a 4 pin connection. Therefore, you will probably need a 4 pin to 4 pin firewire cable. Your PC will probably have a 6 pin connection, so you will need a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire cable for that. I have to make the assumption that that is why you bought 2 cables. But, the first thing to do is check to see if either the PC, or the laptop, has a firewire port.