I don’t have any problem capturing HDV in Vegas 6.0b after using the following script:
1. Plug in Camera
2. Go to Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager
3. Locate AVC/Subunit in the Device Manager
4. Right click, choose Properties
5. Choose Update Driver, and DO NOT let Windows go searching. Choose “I’ll find it myself” (or whatever the dialog actually says)
6. Browse to Sound, Video, Game Controllers to find the driver
7. Locate Sony in the list of Sound, Video, Game Controllers
8. Open the first Sony in the list, and select the DVHS driver as the driver for your camera.
I believe your script was different.
As for editing, Sony help has instructions but Gearshift is easier. How can anyone NOT expect to use proxy files? These files are 4.5 times as big as DV files – huge to work with on today’s computers. And yes, creating them takes some time so sleeping on it is a great idea.