Ok, I've been told I need to get a firewire port on my computer so I can capture video from my Mini DV camcorder.

I've found this one going cheap at PC World -

PC World - BELKIN DB-PCI002 FIREWIRE 800 3 PORT PCI CARD - Shop for cheap Components

Anyone know if it's any good or not?

I can't see why that shouldn't do the job. Looks like a bargain.

Found it here for

i bought one of those john but the port types aint normal firewire for a camcorder

dont bother mate

Ports look fine to me, standard firewire. All you need is a the cable, big firewire to small. However I would look at the back/front of your pc, most modern motherboards have a firewire port as standard. Also the soundblaster audigy 2 has a firewire port on it.

i got the same one sat in front of me belive me they are not normal FW ports i'll get a photo of them in the morning for you to compare

Most expensive modern motherboards have firewire as standard, your cheaper one's generally don't, relying on USB 2.0. Make sure your motherboard supports firewire, usually a 7 pin red socket, and not the USB 56 or 78 slots.

I have a couple of firewire cards knocking about. Will be glad to send one for the price of a stamp.

Just one point - Not pc world please!!! go here for great deals especially on new PC Hardware ebuyer.com - the UK's largest independent online retailer of computers, components, electronics, MP3 Players,cameras, televisions, DVD Players, car audio, software and more... or Overclockers UK

remember - look around before you buy and make sure that you actually see the product before you buy..

um, it's a firewire port. any will do. it'll give you standard firewire ports. these aren't the same as on your camcorder as your camcorder has *mini* firewire ports - hence you connect it with a big->small standard firewire connector (a.k.a. a 4 to 6 pin firewire connector...)

Thats definately real firewire, I bought the FW & USB 2 version for father and it works just fine.

um, it's a firewire port. any will do. it'll give you standard firewire ports. these aren't the same as on your camcorder as your camcorder has *mini* firewire ports - hence you connect it with a big->small standard firewire connector (a.k.a. a 4 to 6 pin firewire connector...)

That's exactly what I was thinking. I wouldn't worry which one you get. That one's only a fiver and they all do the same job. The bigger (ie 6pin) connectors are standard on most desktop PC's anyway, so isn't incorrect. Just get a cheap 4 -> 6 pin cable from Ebuyer.

PS I'd avoid Overclockers personally. I've heard nothing but nightmare stories about them.

My dad gave me his old JVC GR-DVL150 today and i have been looking at firewire cards today. Freaky.

I need to get a PCMCIA one for my laptop, They seem to be cheap enough on Ebay, can get one for under £10 inc P+P. Unless anyone else knows of somewhere cheaper. (Cheaper the Better, Ehhhhh)

well i stand corrected so i can convert these to "normal" firewire then is that what your saying

sorry about photo quality

on the box its says it's a firewire 800 card which i belive is a 1394b type am i right

i got the same one sat in front of me belive me they are not normal FW ports i'll get a photo of them in the morning for you to compare

They look like completely standard Firewire 800 ports :confused: FireWire 800 is backwards compatible with FireWire 400, so long as you have the correct cable

right i'm with you but for the price of the cable you may as well buy a normal 400 card then

plus i was right in what i was saying as the card aint a normal firwire card then is it it won't work with a camcorder as it is

it needs a convertor cable

yeah, the cable seems to cost about 2-3 times as much as the actual card :thumbdwn: but you could probably find a cheaper one

FireWire800 is still 100% normal FireWire. I've got a FireWire 400 hdd which I use to reimage Macs and that has a 6pin connector, as do the Macs (including the Powerbook) but my camcorder has a 4pin connector, so you could say that camcorders don't have a "normal" FireWire connector...but they do

The only difference between a 4 pin and a 6 pin firewire connector is that the 6 pin has the extra two pins to carry power. The remaining 4 pins carry data

That's why you can go from a 6 pin computer port to a 4 pin device port, but not the other way around unless you also add seperate power to the device

If you want a cheap card, as others have mentioned, you can get one from ebuyer, from DVD-R, DVDR, DVD-RW & CDR disc media from SVP for pennies rather than pounds. Maplins most likely have them too.

As for the names, each company has trademarked their own. Originally, it was Firewire, then Sony (who co-developed the interface) called their version i.link then you have creative labs which call it SB1394. They all adhere to the standard that is IEEE1394. IEEE1394b is Firewire 800, but you won't find many devices that require firewire 800 at the moment. And of course, a firewire 800 device / host PC port will work be compatible with the slower 400Mbps speed.

Ok, so lets get this straight, for £5 (reserve and collect at PC World) that firewire 800 card is well worth having?

Firewire 800 is a newer version and fully backwards compatible with firewire 400, and therefore preferential in the long run?

The Socket labelled 'DV' on my camcorder is a mini firewire port?

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated, i'll have last years Scumball footage up on you tube before you know it!!

Don't get a Firewire 800 card for DV unless it also has 400 sockets. 800 won't make any difference to DV transfer rates and they cost a *lot* more.

I got a StarTech card from the PC World component shop for under £20 a couple of years ago. Firewire 400 PCI cards should be available at any decent computer shop for under £25 with cables included.

I went to PC World and it turns out the £5 firewire 800 card is not the correct one, it has different shaped sockets, they are rectangular, whereas the 'normal' firewire sockets are rectangular with a pointy end like this >

I ended up just getting a normal one and a cable. all done now though so thanks for all the help guys.