Huge Dilema Involving Firewire

A

Abinc

Well-known member
So I got new laptop with Windows Vista earlier this year, and I've been planing to edit all my footage taken with my new DVX on it. The thing is, it didn't come with a Firewire port, so I have to invest in buying an ExpressCard since my laptop uses the newer "expresscard slot."

So I tried looking up Firewire ExpressCards for laptops so that I could buy one to give my laptop a firewire port. The closest thing I could find was "http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0_ExpressCard_34_Expansion.html#goto_itemInfo"
... And so I looked under the System Requirements for this one and typically, Vista is not listed under OS.
Basically, I'm confused on what it is I need to get video from my DVX onto my laptop. If you have any information, or if there's anyone else using a Vista laptop, please help!
 
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Look on ebay. The card you showed was a 6 pin firewire, is that the one you need (not the 4 pin)?
 
tmnt said:
Look on ebay. The card you showed was a 6 pin firewire, is that the one you need (not the 4 pin)?
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Quite frankly, I don't know. From what I've heard you can use either 4pin-6pin or 4pin-4pin with no difference in quality (except that 6pin can be used to charge the device connected to it....or something of the sort).
 
The number of pins doens't matter - you'll just need the appropriate cable.
Desktops *typically* have 6-pin connectors, and PC Laptops *typically* have 4-pin connectors. It doens't matter thoguh, you'll just need the right cable to your camera.
The extra 2 pins are in deed used to carry power - not always, but sometimes. For exmaple the original iPods had a 6-pin firewire connector, and they where cahrged/powered through it. Some portable external hard drives are powered through their 6-pin firewire ports too. Of course the HPX500 broadcast camcorder can't be powered through it's 6-pin firewire port .. so that's always a case by case basis.

Most hardware that works with WindowsXP will work just fine with Windows Viasta. No garuntees as it'll only say if it's been certified to work - but it should. (You can always return if it doesn't too)

That card you linked to for example should work just fine for your application. You'd just need a 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable to go with it to connect your camera.

- Mikko
 
Firstly get rid of vista and get XP pro running, it's much more stable with all the proggies you will be using and your lappy will perform considerably better on XP which is very important in the field of video production. CPU & RAM and Vista chews the ass out of it and so many things just aren't Vista compliant yet..
PC Express is faster and better than the old PCMCIA so just fund a card to suit. I would recommend a 6pin connection. It will be more useful with other IEEE devices and also can deliver if required operating voltage power to the connected device from the computer's bus PSU, very handy with external audio etc sound hardware blah blah..
Hope this helps..

PS, I have a Asus V2JE notebook, Intel Core2 Duo 1.86GHz, 2GIG kingston DDR2 ram (and onboard Firewire) Purchased with with Vista Business loaded and I'm now running XP Pro on it and I tell you what the lappy appreciates it, and so do I cause all my proggies just work like they are supposed to... CHeers :)
 
Slinkii said:
Firstly get rid of vista and get XP pro running, it's much more stable with all the proggies you will be using and your lappy will perform considerably better on XP which is very important in the field of video production. CPU & RAM and Vista chews the ass out of it and so many things just aren't Vista compliant yet.
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Amen to that!

Windows XP is much better. I've heard nothing but moans and complaints about Vista. And that's not just about video editing either. It's not a step forward in my opinion.

Frankly, when it comes to editing video, I'm an Apple guy. There are a ton of used Apples out there which you can get for a song compared to buying new...but I guess that advise is too late in this case. I bought an used Apple, loaded up Final Cut Pro, and I'm a very happy camper.
 
Lensmith said:
Amen to that!


Frankly, when it comes to editing video, I'm an Apple guy. There are a ton of used Apples out there which you can get for a song compared to buying new...but I guess that advise is too late in this case. I bought an used Apple, loaded up Final Cut Pro, and I'm a very happy camper.
Click to expand...

I agree with that statement as Apple is the leader in the field. I've always been a PC owner but used my fair share of Apple systems to warrant that claim. If you are already in the PC market, go for XP Pro
 
I had the same problem. Ordered a Dell. The rep assured me it came with a firewire port, which it did not. Called dell and complained, so they refunded me $100. The problem was finding a rare(at the time) firewire "expresscard". Ebay was quite expensive. Then I stumbled across a very inexpensive one at Canada Computers. Works like a charm.
vidwerk.
 
Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate them! Yeah Vista is pretty much insanely annoying.
 
I use USB drives for the most part with my DVX-100 and no complaints. The overall transfer speed for copying files is a little slower, but it handles the actual video capturing and output well. That could be the simplest solution.
 
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