MINI USB CABLE

Most MiniDV camera have USB and Firewire port.
USB is used to transfer from SDCard to PC.
While FireWire (also called IEEE 1394) is used for video transfer into computer. All the drivers needed are part of windows OS (IEEE 1394).
Invariably today's laptops and yester-years desktops do NOT have firewire inbuilt. The only thing you are going to need is a cable and firewire card (IEEE 1394) If you computer does not have one.

Moreover, you will need a capture software. You have Windows movie maker, But its not going to do justice to the camera, better off getting a good editor, such as Adobe Premiere, or Sony Vegas, the software is about the best you can get but not easy to use, and takes some time to get to know, both offer 30 day trials.

This requires a i.LINK socket on the PC, is also known as Firewire or IEEE 1394; if your PC doesn't have one of these inputs, adaptors and add-on cards are widely available). This page from sony shows how

How to transfer DV or Digital8 videos to your PC and supplies the software required.

You can buy a Firewire to USB lead from here.

USB to Firewire Ieee 1394 4 Pin Ilink Adapter Cable 5 feet

Product Summary

4-pin to 4-pin IEEE 1394 iLink FireWire Cable dv out to laptop Connect and transfer home movie from your digital camcorder to Notebook computer.

You will need a Firewire port on your computer, also known as a DV port or IEEE 1394, to use this cable. This is NOT a USB cable.

This DV cable will connect your laptop (notebook)
NOTE: for some models, becuase of no DV jack on the body, this cable connects to docking station/cradle instead of connecting directly to your camcorder.

This is a Firewire cable, also known as DV or IEEE 1394. Sony call it i.Link. It is not compatible with USB and you cannot get a lead to connect it to a USB port. There are converter/adapters that are supposed to allow Firewire to connect to USB but many forum posts say they do NOT work for video transfer. Unfortunately, most Mini-DV cameras will not transfer video by USB cable, even when they have a USB connection (it is usually only used for still pictures).

Most PCs have a USB port, but no Firewire port. Macs often have a Firewire port but may not have USB. If you had a desktop PC, you could fit an add-on Firewire interface card to the expansion bus. This will come with a driver for the card.

I have a Samsung Mini-DV, and do transfers with it to the one computer I have that has a Firewire port. It is the only thing I use that computer for, and the reason I haven't thrown it out.

If you computer has Windows Vista or Windows 7 installed, then streaming over USB is not supported on those operating systems.
It is only supported on Windows XP.
At any rate, the quality of the video when streamed over USB is of considerably lower quality when compared to the video when transferred of IEEE 1394 connection.
If you don't have Windows XP, you'll have to find a computer with an IEEE 1394 connector and buy a Sony DV to IEEE 1394 cable. The DV port on the camera is right next to the USB port. Consult your local Sony retailer to find the proper cable for your camera.

On page 230 of the user manual, it describes how to transfer movies from the camera to a computer using an i.Link (IEEE 1394) cable. You will need the 4 pin i.Link cable and an IEEE 1394 connector on your computer in order to do this. You cannot use the USB cable to transfer the video from this camcorder -- you can only transfer still images using the USB cable.
You will have to buy this i.Link cable and (if you don't have a IEEE 1394 port on your computer) a IEEE 1394 adapter card for you desktop computer. If your laptop computer doesn't have a IEEE 1394 adapter, then you're pretty much out of luck.
Once you have the i.Link and 1394 issues resolved, then Movie Maker should then recognize the camera.

Hi,
To transfer video from your camcorder to your computer you will need a firewire cable (IEEE 1394). Only with this cable you will be able to transfer video.

Please note that you will also need a firewire port on your computer. if you don't have one then you can buy a firewire PCI card.

Please see the following link for more info and pictures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394_interface


Regards,
nicolasiac

to transfer video from your camcorder to your pc you will need a firewire cable (ieee 1394). only with this cable you will be able to transer video.
you will also need a firewire port on your pc.
if you don't have one then you can buy a firewire pci card.

see this for info and pictures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394_interface

Use a Firewire (IEEE 1394) card in your PC and connect it to the camera using its DV port

Are you using the USB cable that came with the camcorder? If so, then don't use it, because it doesn't work for loading from mini DV tapes to other devices. Instead, buy a IEEE 1394 "FireWire" cable (whether 4/6/ pin, whatever you need)in order to pass the videos from the camara to the computer. note: DO NOT buy a cable that has a USB on one side and a IEEE 1394 on the other side, thus it doesn't work. You must buy a cable that has both IEEE 1394 ports on both sides.