[AndrewL.]

I purchased a firewire with a digital camera connector on one end and a USB on the other as my new laptop doesn't have a 1394 jack. After I bought it, I realized that the package said that it's for speaker and phone use. Would it still work for a camcorder though?

 

[BGY11]

I'm not quite sure what kind of cable you have, since Firewire & USB are different standards. For a Firewire cable, there are 6-pin & 4-pin connectors. Here's an image of the two connectors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FireWire_cables.jpg

If the camera does indeed use Firewire, then you'll need a Firewire PC Card/ExpressCard adapter for your laptop.

 

[Jake]

Tell us your camcorder model number and we will be able to help you.

 

[AndrewL.]

Thanks for the info.

I did get the wrong cable (Regular USB and mini USB). The camera jack is a 4-pin firewire (And has a mini USB too but the guy at Radio Shack says that may not work for video transfer.), and the laptop is another 4-pin jack. My laptop doesn't have a 6-pin connector (Which my old desktop did) which is what I thought 1394 meant.

This may not matter anymore, but the camera is a Sony DCR-TRV280.

 

[Jake]

I have one very similar to that. The only way you will get video off that camera is via the firewire port. The USB is for the flash memory card.

Your laptop will need a firewire port. The plugs will look exactly like what BGY11 posted.

 

[AndrewL.]

Thanks Jake. BTW, the flash card (MemoryStick) takes videos as well, but the picture doesn't fill the whole screen.

 

[Jake]

Ah yes I forgot about the memory stick option. I think the stick video must be QVGA MPEG or some lower resolution. DV is 720x480 or 704x480.

Edit: MPEG Movie Mode is MPEG1 @ 320 x 240 or 160 x 112