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Firewire-to-USB converter
Hi all, just found the forum and I’m hoping you can help me with something. There seem to be a lot of knowledgable members here, and with any luck some of you may have some experience with this problem:
I have always edited on my home desktop computer using Vegas, using a JVC GR-D20 camera to connect to the PC via firewire. I bought a new laptop recently, and it has no firewire port. No PCMCIA slot to add one either, so I’m a bit screwed there. It only has USB (2.0). The camcorder only has a Firewire port, nothing for USB.
However, I’ve found this adapter online: https://www.pixela-1.com/captycable/ And ebay has items from Hong Kong that appear to do the same thing, only much cheaper: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-to-IEEE-1394-Firewire-Printer-6-Adapters-Travel-Kit_W0QQitemZ180049266807QQihZ008QQcategoryZ31493Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Other sites I’ve read have said that Firewire and USB are not compatible, so can’t be converted/adapted to each other… My fear is spending the money on this converter and then it not working properly – I can live with the odd dropped frame (which I think might be unavoidable with the transfer rate difference), but I’d hate for the computer/Vegas to not recognise the camera at all or to capture only audio, or something to that effect… I’ve been told that even if the converter “works” that Vegas won’t even look at the USB ports anyway, so won’t recognise the camera at all… Is there any way around this?
Basically, what I’m asking is does anyone know if this kind of converter will actually work and enable me to connect the two devices which I thought were unconnectable?
Thanks for any help you can give me, I really appreciate it.
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4 Replies
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Both firewire and USB are merely pipelines for data. You get the same data whether or not you capture with firewire or USB—Although firewire is generally more reliable, plenty of people are capturing using USB 2.0 with no problems whatsoever.
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So theoretically, this converter should work fine with Vegas? I’m hoping someone has some experience of it, as I’m wary of popping down over $100 US dollars for something that may not work.
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I haven’t heard of these converters so no experience there. If you do get one, please let us know how it performs.
– but are you sure the laptop has no PCMCIA slot? – I didn’t know they made such machines.
Peter Wright
Perth, Western Oz
http://www.allroundvision.com.au -
Sadly, I’m sure, Peter – it’s a new thing with cheaper laptops, apparently. They’re manufactured without a PCMCIA slot to boast high specs and a low price, and where you get stung is on the connectivity. I was a novice about laptops, so I didn’t know what to look for. If I do take the plunge, I’ll report back on how successful it is.
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