New Firewire but can't record from Camcorder

Usually what you would do is buy a IEEE-1394 interface card and install it in your PC in an available slot on the motherboard. You can buy these for less than $20 and with a little tech knowledge about PCs many people can install the card themselves. The IEEE-1394 is called i.Link by Sony. If you are running Windows XP, or Vista, the drivers are already installed. Reboot PC and the new card should be recognized. Use the 4-pin to 4-pin firewire cable to connect camcorder to PC. You will need software to capture your video which should have been supplied by Sony with your camera. For Windows 7, you need to install LIVE Photo Gallery. Your camcorder was setup to work with Windows XP so an alternative may be to just find a friend with an older PC with a firewire card already installed running Windows XP. I just did this very same thing on my PC and it worked. Got the firewire card from Amazon.com for $3.95 VIA brand from Taiwan. I used Windows Movie Maker to capture video. Sony also sells a stand-alone DVD recorder which connects to a camcorder and requires no computer to create DVDs of your video.

• The USB connection only allows transfer of pictures and movies stored on the Memory stick. The videos recorded to DV tape is NOT accessible through the USB interface. You must transfer taped videos using i.Link.
• Go get a Firewire (also known as i.Link and IEEE 1394) cable to connect to your computer's Firewire port. Adding a Firewire PC card is relatively inexpensive, but make sure that card has BOTH the 4 pin and 6 pin connections, for most flexibility.
• Once you connect the camcorder with the Firewire cable, the Ulead VideoStudio will see the camcorder as a video capture device, without additional software or drivers.
  

You got to check first if your camcorder has a digital video out (firewire / ieee 1394) or an analog video out (rca connector)
If it has a digital, your life will be a little easy. If its analog, you will need two important computer component namely a "video capture card" and " a "Software" that will record your video.
Assuming, your camcorder has a FIREWIRE output. Here are the steps for your setup.
1. Connect your firewire cable from your camcorder to your computer. There are different connectors for the firewire but the usual wire that comes with your camcorder are 1394-4p to 1394-6p. You can check the types on this site; http://www.tca-inc.net/firewirecables.html
2. After connecting your camcorder to your computer, launch your software that will record you video, For MAC users typically its FinalCut Pro and for PC its ADOBE Premiere. But any software will work.
3. Power-on your camcorder and let your computer detect your camcorder. If your camcorder comes with a software installer, then you will need to put it in now.
4.Your video capture software will give you a preview of your video and will probably give you a setting you need to customize. frame size or resolution - 320x240 pixels (this is a low resolution setting) - 720x480 pixels (this is the standard for DV and popular TV formats)
Audio setting - 16bit 44.1khz
5. After setting your video resolution, you are ready to go. Watch out for DRIVE SPACE cause video eats up alot of space, and it all depends on your settings. The higher you go the bigger you file is.

If your camcorder doesn't come with a firewire output, then it will be a little technical for you.
1. You got to buy a good video capture card. There's a lot of brands out there ranging from consumer (cheap) to professional (expensive). Quality always comes with a price.
2. Install your video capture card into your computer and install the software that comes with it. Consumer brands are typically easy to install but if you encounter a few snag on your installation, go to the brand's technical site or forum so you'll get first hand info from actual users. Never give up. alot of times the sequencing of installing the drivers is the key to success.
3. after installing your video capture card, launch the software that comes with your capture card to grab your video. set your video resolution and you're ready to go.
JS

to transfer video from your camcorder to your laptop 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 laptop.
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

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

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

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

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

If your camcorder is a digital version, you should have a 1394 iLink Firewire cable which is needed to connect your camcorder to your PC. A Firewire is a higher transfer rate connection than USB 1.0 (but slower than USB 2.0), and it is intended for applications such as video editing. Some camers, e.g., Sony, require a Firewire connection to exploit certain features of a digital camcorder and editing software, and it's best to use one. If you do need the Firewire but your computer doesn't have a 1394 Firewire port built in, you can purchase a PCI card version for around $50 and install it separately very easily.

And if your computer doesn't have the 1394 port, but does have a USB 2.0 connector (all newer computers now do), then you can connect your camcorder to your PC via the USB 2.0 (note: NOT a USB 1.0!) to begin capturing video. If you're still having trouble, make sure you go to your camcorder manufacturer's website to download any relevant drivers then retry your connection. If your computer Finds New Hardware sucessfully, you're in. Good luck!

Your computer must be equipped with an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface and video capture software. Provided you have both of these, follow the directions below. To connect your digital camcorder to your computer using IEEE1394, follow these steps: 1. Connect the IEEE 1394 interface on your camcorder to the IEEE 1394 interface on your computer. 2. Turn on your computer. 3. Turn on your camcorder. 4. Start the video capture software on the computer. Image capture should begin provided the computer hardware and software are configured correctly. If image capture does not begin, you must consult the computer or capture card manufacturer for assistance. Note: If you don't have an IEEE 1394 interface on your computer, you can buy an IEEE 1394 pci card at your local computer store that will work with most current computers.