PLEASE !! Somebody help me. I have tried everywhere else :(

[Ruthie]

Hello! I am BEGGING someone to help me! I have been given a Panasonic NV-GS27EB for my birthday as I have just had a new baby! And i have two tapes of him already ( cause its the mini dv tapes ) and I am desperate to get the videos onto DVD. So.. I know that I need to put it onto the computer and then burn it to a disc! As the camcorder came with NOTHING ( no cables, no software! ) I am kind of at a loss. I bought a USB cable to connect it, but the computer doesnt even recgonise anything is ther. I obvioulsy need some kind of software for it to be regonised. I just have NO IDEA what i need to get. Please help! I have phone 4 million numbers already trying to get advice and not ONE of them has helped me!!

PLEASE, someone out there MUST know something! I'm begging lol

Ruthie xxx

[jaymac]

Panic not the truth is out there or here on this forum to be precise. First you need a firewire cable which you dont get with the Camera second your pc needs to have a firewire card installed .You will need to check if it has one if not you'll need to install or have one installed . Once youhave that you willbe able to get the video onto the pc with Windows movie maker which you have if you have xp or vista then another free programm called dvd flick willput your video onto dvd.Can you check if you have firewire installed first then come back and we can go from there
If you dont know how to check for firewire its right click onMY Cmputer the clcikon properties >hardware>device manager and look down the list for IEEE1394

[Ruthie]

THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Right, I have checked that list and i cant seem to see it anywhere. So where do I download it from. Thank you so much in advance for your help, I am totally at my wits end lol x

[Ruthie]

Oh, I have XP by the way, so I have got Windows Movie Maker x

[jaymac]

Hi you cant download firewire card you need to install it or have it installed.About £15 if you do it yourself.

[jaymac]

Have aread of this
http://www.simplydv.co.uk/info-base/..._firewire.html

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by Ruthie

Right, I have checked that list and i cant seem to see it anywhere. So where do I download it from. Thank you so much in advance for your help, I am totally at my wits end lol x

Hi Ruth,

Just to be absolutely sure that you're computer isn't already firewired: check for a port, probably situated near the USB ports, that looks like the one in the first photograph I've attached below.

The firewire port on your camera should look like the one in the second photograph, and the kind of cable you require is a 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable (the 6-pin end to the computer, the 4-pin end to the camcorder). The last photograph below shows you the connectors on the cable.

When you've got your cable, make sure that both your computer and your camera are SWITCHED OFF before connecting them with the cable. Connect the camera and computer with the cable, then switch on your computer, then switch on your camera. Do the reverse when you've finished importing your tapes. This is to make sure you don't accidentally burn out your firewire port (= expensive repair). I've never seen it happen, but heard that it can.

Any other questions, just ask.

Best,
Andrew.

P.S. Don't pay a fortune for a firewire cable. Go to PC World or Curry's / Dixons and talk them down to no more than £10, which is the most you'll pay for one on the web. You'll probably find marked prices start at around £15, which in my opinion is waaaay to much.

[JH4]

A simpler way - if you have a DVD recorder, is to plug your camcorder into that. If the recorder also has a hard drive, you can then edit the footage, add a title, burn direct to DVD R discs, and copy as many as you wish for friends. Maybe a lot easier and quicker that going down the PC route.
Just a thought.

[Ruthie]

Nope definately not got one of those. so where do i go to get one installed? x

[senu]

Originally Posted by Ruthie

Nope definately not got one of those. so where do i go to get one installed? x

Firewire cards are £8-10, grab a friend who can open a PC and put a card in a PCI slot
A "Pro " should not be nessesary and will cost more than the card itself
It is really that simply. Doesnt reuire drivers and should be seen immediately by Windows
Most card come with a cable as well, ans some even with come older but still useful software..

[A n d r e w]

I have been given a Panasonic NV-GS27EB for my birthday as I have just had a new baby!

By the way - congratulations on the new addition! In all the excitement over upgrading your PC for firewire this kind of slipped my mind.

Hope you get the camera-to-computer thing sorted soon, so you can start enjoying what you've recorded so far.

Best,
Andrew.

[Ruthie]

ok, i am looking on ebay and i can see a few! but not sure what to get! i am sorry for being a total blonde. if someone could post on here the code for what i need like " eee " whatcha ma call it lol and i can searhc for one.

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!!!

:c lap:

[koolpc]

This is what you need:

Extra Value PCI Firewire 1394A Card with 3 External and 1 Internal Port OEM

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/60573

You just need to open up the PC case. And then push the card into a PCI slot (White strip).

If you haven't already got one you will also need:

Plexus IEEE 1394 FireWire Cable 6Pin / 4Pin (Black) 2m

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130523

Hope this helps.

[senu]

Originally Posted by koolpc

This is what you need:
Hope this helps.

My post above ( #10) also links one , which comes with a cable and some software

[A n d r e w]

Sorry to be pedantic, but just to make sure there is no misunderstanding: BOTH of the firewire cards linked to in the posts above DO require the case of your PC to be opened for installation.

Andrew.