Inexpensive Video Capture Software for Windows?

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Hello All,

I have a friend who has a Mini-DV camcorder. It has a mini FW connector for digital transfer. He has a new (as opposed to ancient) notebook computer, which does not have a FW port. It looks like we can get a PCMCIA FW card and a 4-pin to 6-pin FW cable to get the video into the computer. All this can be done on the cheap (about $20). So, now that we can get the video into the computer, I assume we'll need a piece of software to 'capture' the video, is this correct? Or is there something built-in to the Windows OS that does this? If that's a no-go, what inexpensive software do you recommend to do this?

As far as features, a little bit of editing, such as cutting the video up into smaller chunks and trimming the ends should be fine for now. And he needs the ability to burn the video to DVD.

He's running Windows 7 Home Premium.

Many thanks,
Lou

Okay, I think we're out of luck. What I thought was a PCMCIA slot is actually an SD.MS/Pro.MMC.XD slot, and it doesn't look like there is a FW card for this slot. The 'puter also has an eSATA connector for external HD, but again it doesn't look like there is a FW solution for this port either. If anyone knows of a work-around, I appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks!
Lou

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Okay, I think we're out of luck. What I thought was a PCMCIA slot is actually an SD.MS/Pro.MMC.XD slot, and it doesn't look like there is a FW card for this slot. The 'puter also has an eSATA connector for external HD, but again it doesn't look like there is a FW solution for this port either. If anyone knows of a work-around, I appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

Thanks!
Lou

[Cygnus X1]

Get a Mac.

Hahahahaha...ahem...hahahaha...scuse me.
I think I just laughed up a lung.

[Structo]

What type of medium does the camera use?

Is it a SD card or other solid state memory or does it use tape?

Once you get it to the computer, windows has a built in program called Movie Maker.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

@Tom: Magnetic tape, Mini-DV to be exact. Good to know about Movie Maker, though at this point, it's looking like there is no way to make a digital transfer to the computer. Perhaps there is a USB-connected analog video capture converter out there. I will look for that next. Thanks for your help!

@Cygnus: Yeah, I hear ya! I've been on a Mac for years and there's no looking back for me. I even run XP on my Mac so I can use my CAD programs which have never been (and likely never will be) ported to the Mac OS.