sony terrible computer connectivity

anyone help with my sony digital 8 handy cam.i cant connect with either firewire or usb.im using 4-pin to 6-pin firewire.sony doesnt offer any hel[p in the matter

 

i'm having trouble with sony software usb drivers, makes windows crash when i go to stream the camcorder to pc
do you have to use sony imagemixer software and drivers or can i use adobe etc?

 

Didn't you receive any s/w with your cam?

 

yep sony image mixer 1.5
installed the drivers off the cd and then the software package but when i plug in camcorder to usb 2.0 port and into camcorder then switch on cam corder ,the windows hardware manager boots up (as the manual says it will)
but it gives a warnig that the usb drivers will cause a problem with my operating system do i want to continue?
no means the camcorder dosent get identified and if i go a head and continue windows crashes.
i have tried using windows movie maker with my camcorder and the moment its hooked up to the usb and switched on i get windows crash again
so i think it might be a usb 2.0 comflict
what do you think?????????

 

would a firewire card bypass the need to install the sony drivers?

 

Yep, Firewire is plug'n'play

 

how confident are you that my camcorder would be regonised???
is firewire pretty reliable???

i have tried all the patches from sony about usb trouble and nothing so firewire would be only other option,to by pass using usb

 

Firewire is a standardized transfer protocol, IEEE1394. Camcorders, cards and cables that carry the logo should comply with this standard. Occasionaly you will see people on this forum having problems with it, but there mostly is a reason for it.
Really, you don't want USB for miniDV or Digital8 transfer.
Check this for some back ground: http://www.digitalvideoclub.com/basics/transfer.php
Moreover, what do you have to loose? A Firewire card plus cable can be bought for as low as $20...

 

ok thanks,i have seen how cheap the cards can be.
my sony camcorder has ILINK so this would use the firewire card i take it.
sounds better than using usb anyway
thanks again

 

got the video transferred finally with usb...the quality sucks though and takes up space...i have a firewire card installed on my PC and trying to use a 4pin to 6pin cable...it doesnt detect the camera...anymore help???

 

Check this thread: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/471222

 

chris, I had the same problem and it turned out that my 'new' firewire cable was in fact defective. Try a trusted cable!