i have an AMD xp 2000+ cpu machiene and i have [bold]sony DCR HC-40E[/bold] camcorder with recording media on miniDV tapes. i connected my handycam to my computer through USB cable And with the help of picture package software provided with the camcorder i tried to burn the mini DV tapes on to a CD to make a VCD, but the software didn't detect my CDROM infact i have [bold]liteon SOHW-1693S[/bold] DVD writer too. Then later a shop fellow suggested me to buy a [bold]capturing card[/bold] to capture the videos from camcorder. Is It possible? if yes suggest me which card i should buy and which software should i use to able to burn VCD's as well as DVD's and also let me know the procedure as to how to do it ?.
You should not need a capture card to get the video onto the PC, But you will struggle using USB. Firewire is the best way to get video onto a PC. You will need a Firewire cable to connect the Sony to the PC and if your PC doesn't have a Firewire port you will need to fit a PCI Firewire card.