mini dvd to laptop

i just bought my panassonic vdr-d210 from best buy. on the 30th i bought the Hp pavilion dv6000z special edition with vista on it. after recodring something on my dvd video camera and i put the cd in the computer with windows XP, the computer tells me the cd isempty. but on the laptop with vista i get a folder and when i try to play it the screen is black and moves up and down. is there any converters out there that can take me from the camcorders mini dvd's to be able to be played on the computer. thanks in advancted