J_R
Posts: 4446
Joined: 1/4/2002
From: Corona, CA,
Status: offline
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My Sony cam has both USB and firewire connections. Initally, I tried the USB connection. It wasn't great and dropped frames. I looked on Sony's site and, sure enough, there was an updated driver for USB. It works great.
HOWEVER, the files were smaller than I expected, and on fruther review of the info on Sony's site, it turned out that files downloaded with firewire are twice the resolution. So... off to the computer store to buy a firewire card. They are pretty inexpensive (under $40 US). Firewire cards have 6 pins and the cam, only 4. You will also need a firewire cable. If the camera is a 4 pin connector, you need a 6 pin to 4 pin cable. (Some firewire devices use the other two pins, which provide power to the device). The cable cost almost as much as the card. Some makers sell them together in kits.
Under Windows XP, install the card and Windows will pick it up as new hardware and supply the driver. The wizard will run. Just follow the directions.
The driver for your camera may or may not be supplied by Windows. Install the software that came with your camera, in any case. Then go to the website of the cam maker and look for updates to the programs and install any you find.
Note: technically, USB 2 is supposed to be a faster connection. In fact, for many things, including cams and hard drives, firewire is faster.
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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Digital Video (DV) & Video Editing Software >> Firewire? 
Firewire? - 
RE: Firewire? - 
. Sometimes, you are better off biting the bullet and buying a new machine. Don't nickle and dime yourself to death trying to upgrade. As a way of deciding, look at the system requirements for commercial software and see if your machine meets the recommended, not minimum, requirements.
