Camcorder Recording to DVD

[Tosh McCaber]

I'm hoping to get going with transferring my multitude of digital camcorder tapes onto DVD, using Pinnacle Studio, or something similar. I don't have a Firewire card on the computer just now, but I do have USB 2 connections, which are, I think, faster than Firewire.

Ive been told that the DV connection from my Digital 8 camcorder should connect to Firewire, however, I would have thought that USB2 should be just as good.

Do I go out and buy a DV- USB2 connector, or a Firewire card?

Anyone out there have any experience of this?

[SuperOwl]

Hi Tosh,

I've tried using USB for this but I have to admit that I am unsure what you mean by USB 2 as I've not heard of it before. All I can say is that the Firewire card I installed was a godsend. I use the Pinnacle software like you and have found that by connecting my camera to my PC via the firewire card it is quicker and also easier.

A good thing is that I can control the camera from the PC by using the little control panel that is displayed on the Pinnacle software and the response is instantaneous. Based on this I would recommend that you use a Firewire card. Mine cost £30 and the cable was another £15. I imagine that you can probably get a better deal than I did but make sure you check that you get the correct cable to link your Firewire port to your camera as there are different varieties.

Again, I am not entirely sure what you mean by USB 2 but assuming it is the same as the USB on my PC (which is 2 years old) then go for the Firewire, if it IS different then I don't honestly know.

If it is different I would like to know more as things like this do interest me.

Cheers.

SuperOwl

[Tosh McCaber]

Thanks SO,

USB2 is the 2nd generation of USB- much, much faster than the original USB, and a bit faster than Firewire. I just am not sure whether it's possible to connect from DV to USB2, rather than Firewire- I don't want to buy an expensive cable and then find it doesn't work! Or vise versa- I don't want to buy a Firewire card if it's not necessary!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Tosh McCaber,

USB 2.0 and IEEE1394 both run at 400 Mbps Transfer so either one is good for transferring data from your camcorder.

It is always better to go with that is native to the camera. I would just get an IEEE1394 card for your PC. They are cheap and it would insure that the camcorder will work with your PC.

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/15-104-305-01.JPG

Take Care,

Richard

[Tosh McCaber]

Thanks again, Richard!