[freeflier77]

I realize these are two different beasts. i have a HP G60 laptop and i would like to capture video. is there any option other than using an external hard drive to capture the video to? The laptop only has USB ports. no express card slot, why didnt i check the lack of firewire before i bought this???lol.

[smax013]

freeflier77 said:

I realize these are two different beasts. i have a HP G60 laptop and i would like to capture video. is there any option other than using an external hard drive to capture the video to? The laptop only has USB ports. no express card slot, why didnt i check the lack of firewire before i bought this???lol.

OK, I am sorry but it is not entirely clear to me what you are asking...

Do you just want to capture video from a camera or VCR to your computer and looking for a way to do it that does not require a Firewire port?

If so, then take a look at a device like this: http://www.pinnacles...oducts/ConsumerProducts/Dazzle/DazzleVideoArchiving/DazzleVideoCreatorPlus.htm

It uses a USB port to connect to your computer and you connect your video device (whether VCR, camera, etc) to it. You then use the software to capture the video to the computer through the device.

I have a similar device except that it uses a Firewire port.

[freeflier77]

my cameras use firewire to dump footage. i bought a laptop that only has USB ports. im trying to see if there is a simple way other than having a external HD hooked up to the laptop to send video to the laptop HD for editing. I know....i should have just spent the extra $1000 to buy a Macbook Pro.

[smax013]

freeflier77 said:

my cameras use firewire to dump footage. i bought a laptop that only has USB ports. im trying to see if there is a simple way other than having a external HD hooked up to the laptop to send video to the laptop HD for editing. I know....i should have just spent the extra $1000 to buy a Macbook Pro.

You only options are (to my knowledge):

1) Get a new camera that has USB outputs.
2) Get a new computer.
3) Use another computer that you already have that has a Firewire port to capture the video and then move/copy the video to the laptop by either external drive (either flash drive or hard drive), network, or optical disk.
4) Get the device that I linked to before and then hook your camera to it using the video out connections, NOT the Firewire connections.
5) If your computer has an ExpressCard slot, then get a Firewire ExpressCard adapter.

#1 and #2 are likely not realistic.

#3 could be the cheapest, but is the most "pain in the rear" option.

#4 is probably the worst quality option as you would be doing analog video to digital video rather than all digital and it will be slow...it would be a one-to-one time operation...if your video is an hour long, then it will take an hour to get it on the laptop.

#5 is probably the best...assuming you have an ExpressCard slot.

[quackadilly]

What kind of media do your cameras support?