Problem downloading to PC

Thanks for the help, but as I said, we tried it in the rear jack also but still could not get the PC to recognize the camera.  I tried it at work with no luck.  I know the cables are fine because I use them all the time at work to down load videos from the work video camera.  The issue I think is the camcorder. Thanks for the help, but as I said, we tried it in the rear jack also but still could not get the PC to recognize the camera.  I tried it at work with no luck.  I know the cables are fine because I use them all the time at work to down load videos from the work video camera.  The issue I think is the camcorder.

I bought a new Sony Digital 8 Handycam in 2004 and it has been great until early this year when my firewire port stopped functioning. Sony quoted $AU 650.00 to fix it. It cost me $AU $599.00 new with bonus battery, tapes and bag. Sony seemed to think that the problem was unusual, despite other people I know who also lost their firewire ports, not to mention the many complaints I found on the internet.

I asked them if there was anything I needed to do in future to avoid the same problem, but they seemed at a loss to suggest anything, especially as they do not recognise that the firewire port is a faulty design by Sony. Feeling that I had probably been a bit unlucky I bought a second hand Sony Digital 8 camera the TRV330E. It had hardly been used and the firewire port worked so I could now download all my footage, especially the over 50 tapes I had used as storage.

After just 10 downloads of footage, each time making sure that all the cable connections were made before even plugging in the computer and switching it on, my firewire port, again, stopped being recognised by the computer. This occurred even though I always made sure that the computer was up and running before switching the camera on. It seemed to me that these precautions should have avoided any possible shorting of the firewire port on the camera.

In my opinion, Sony has dodged having to recall, what was clearly in my opinion, a faulty part because of a largely technically ignorant consumer. The early Sony manuals described how to use the inferior USB port for streaming video, rather than the superior firewire. The Digital 8 format was superseded and Sony has encouraged people to simply upgrade to a new camera. Unfortunately, some of us, although passionate about our movie making, are on limited budgets.

When I can afford to, I will purchase a new camera, but it will not be a Sony. Had many of us been more techno savy when these early Digi 8 models came out we may have been able to force Sony to recall them and replace the firewire ports with ones that were more reliable. Unfortunately, it is probably too late for that now.
I bought a new Sony Digital 8 Handycam in 2004 and it has been great until early this year when my firewire port stopped functioning. Sony quoted $AU 650.00 to fix it. It cost me $AU $599.00 new with bonus battery, tapes and bag. Sony seemed to think that the problem was unusual, despite other people I know who also lost their firewire ports, not to mention the many complaints I found on the internet.
I asked them if there was anything I needed to do in future to avoid the same problem, but they seemed at a loss to suggest anything, especially as they do not recognise that the firewire port is a faulty design by Sony. Feeling that I had probably been a bit unlucky I bought a second hand Sony Digital 8 camera the TRV330E. It had hardly been used and the firewire port worked so I could now download all my footage, especially the over 50 tapes I had used as storage.
After just 10 downloads of footage, each time making sure that all the cable connections were made before even plugging in the computer and switching it on, my firewire port, again, stopped being recognised by the computer. This occurred even though I always made sure that the computer was up and running before switching the camera on. It seemed to me that these precautions should have avoided any possible shorting of the firewire port on the camera.
In my opinion, Sony has dodged having to recall, what was clearly in my opinion, a faulty part because of a largely technically ignorant consumer. The early Sony manuals described how to use the inferior USB port for streaming video, rather than the superior firewire. The Digital 8 format was superseded and Sony has encouraged people to simply upgrade to a new camera. Unfortunately, some of us, although passionate about our movie making, are on limited budgets.
When I can afford to, I will purchase a new camera, but it will not be a Sony. Had many of us been more techno savy when these early Digi 8 models came out we may have been able to force Sony to recall them and replace the firewire ports with ones that were more reliable. Unfortunately, it is probably too late for that now.