Sony DCR PC1 - Getting the iLink/Firewire to input to PC.

I have a Sony DCR PC1. Last night I tried connecting it to the

firewire ports of the PC(in turn, the 6 pin and then the 4 pin)

using the appropriate firewire cords. I thought this was plug and

play technology, but the Sony screen says "DV IN" and nothing

happens on the PC. I have a Pentium 4 (with Asus motherboard with

onboard VIA 1394 controller) running Windows XP home with ample

memory. I've checked out all the plugs and connectors inside and out.

Question 1a. Do I need a driver installed for XP to recognize the

connection?

Question 1b. If yes, can I get a generic driver or is there a

repository of old Sony MiniDV cam drivers somewhere? If I can get a

driver, what do I attach it to?

Question 2. Why does the Sony say, maddeningly, "DV IN" with no way

to make it "DV OUT" based on the skimpy (and confusingly worded)

instructions in the manual? The manual clearly shows a diagram and

describes a situation where the signal goes to another DV cam using

the i-Link only, so clearly this is possiple.

Question 3. Is this a wiring issue? Are there IEEE1394 4-pin/6-pin

custom crossover wiring issues I should be aware of?

I've used Google to search the Sony site and elsewhere but have

brought up precisely nothing. Any help, any at all will be deeply

appreciated and gratefully received :-)

You didn't mention anything about what software you were using. Once the DV camera is connected to the computer you control it from your capture/editing software (like Final Cut or Premiere).

I never needed any drivers for my camera - only for the FireWire card which is not only recognised automatically by Windows but also by Linux. So once the card is recognised by the system and you have a decent video application then you're all set.

One little tip with Windows. You know that everything's fine if you see a little icon appear near where the system clock is.

Mani; Looking at Sony's website, there's a software driver upgrade for mini-DV into an XP system for the USB streaming function; this may not be exactly what you need.

At this site: http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/dvimag/minidv/

under the product model box, type in the model number and you can ask Sony the question directly.

Q 1A: I didn't see an upgrade for XP; Sony's site says it *should* be compatible.

Q2: I looked at the manual for your camcorder online by downloading the pdf file. You're right, it only shows using the camcorder's IEEE-1394 connector in the context of connection to another DV camcorder. It sounds like there's only one type of cable; serial data on the cable between camcorder and the second device is supposed to control the camcorder's transport mode (whether its record or play; in or out). It sounds like you need to first open up the capture software on your PC. There should be a driver which then talks to the camcorder and sets up the mode to "out" for playback into the PC.

Sony should be able to help you with compatibility issues with popular softwares; perhaps the software company can help, too (but don't hold your breath).