How do I put mini DV onto a windows 8 laptop using firewire?

Question

I have a vx2000 camera that i bought off ebay, and i cannot get the footage of it onto my pc, i have a pinnacle moviebox to plug the firewire into because my laptop does not have a firewire port, the pinnacle moviebox works fine but the camera isnt showing on my laptop anywhere, I am using windows 8.

Answer 1

This?

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-MovieBox-HD-OLD-VERSION/dp/B00392LYF6



It won't work since your computer has no firewire port. The way that box works is you connect the AV-out from the camcorder to the MovieBox, then you connect the DV (firewire port) to the computer's firewire port. Since your computer has no firewire port, there is nothing to which that DV port can connect.



You need a different analog/digital converter - one that uses a USB connection like those form Elgato, Blackmagic Design or Roxio...



Then, connect the AV-out of the DCR-VX2000 to the AV-in of the MovieBox analog/digital converter. Connect the analog/digital converter's USB port into the computer's USB port.



You did not tell us what computer hardware (other than its a laptop) you are using. If it has an ExpressCard or PCMCIA port, you can add a card that has a firewire port. If it has a Thundebolt port, you can use a Thunderbolt-to-firewire cable adapter.



There is no USB-to-firewire cable/adapter/converter that will ever work so please do no waste you money trying one of those.

Answer 2

there is nothing about windows 8 that prevents you from having an ieee 1394 port (aka firewire). go back to your computer vendor and have them install the port on your computer, or get a generic card. either way they are not expensive. just because your computer did not come pre-equipped with an ieee 1394 port does not mean it cannot not be simply added.



ok now lets look at your specific problem. since you say the moviebox has a firewire connection, then i am assuming you have the ancient Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV version. it does not use a computer for DV capture, it is done stand alone. That is why Windows (any version) does not "see" your camcorder through it. The only way you can access the MovieBox ports is through the Pinnacle Studio 8 software that was bundled with it.

Answer 3

You need further software to see and control the camera. If Win8 has Movie Maker (does it?) you need to use that, or the software that came with the Pinnacle device. That is where you should see, and be able to control the camera and copy the video from tape to PC. Windows by itself can't do anything with the video.



Edit: Guess I should have looked up the Moviebox. The 1st answer is correct, you must have firewire all the way to make it work properly. Using the composite out jacks (yellow, red, white RCA connectors) will not give you anywhere near the same quality video as using firewire, so that should be last resort method.

Answer 4

There aren't many programs allowing the FireWire print to disc anymore, I don't think premiere does it anymore .. but sony Vegas do on their professional lines, to use search YouTube video string , Sony Vegas FireWire print to disc , it will give a full tutorial , even up to Vegas 11 , I have a feeling that the free wmm for win8 doesn't have the capabilities for print to disc.. The movie box should act as a pass through controller for your camcorder .. If the FireWire doesn't allow passthrough you may hit a brick wall, but I would hope to be pretty confident that it will be ok.

Answer 5

Which tape based camcorder? Which computer? VHS, VHS-C, BETA Hi8 and 8mm tape formats are all analog and would require an "analog/digital converter" like the low-end USB connecting ones from Roxio or Pinnacle (Dazzle). The good ones are firewire connected (like those from Canopus). Digital8 and miniDV tape digital tapes use a firewire cable to connect the camcorder's DV port to the computer's firewire port. USB won't work - USB-to-firewire cable/hub/adapter/converter things don't work. In either case, the video editor in the computer "imports" or "captures" the video...