Panasonic AG DVX 100B- Firewire and Express Card

[DANE EARL]

Hi all,

 

I just recently bought a Panasonic AG DVX100B. I also purchased a Dell Studio laptop. The problem.... My Dell does not have a 6 pin Firewire port only a 4 pin firewire. The camera has a 4pin firewire port as well. All attempts thus far to capture media have been a failure. I know I can purchase an express card for my Dell to convert to a 6 pin port, however, I have heard these cards may still not recognize the camera. I guess overall I am a little confused about how to get my media from my camera to my computer for editing. Are there other solutions? What is the best way to "capture" media from my camera?

 

 

Please be gentle.....I am a newbie

 

Dane

[Ryan Thomas]

You should be able to get a 4 pin to 4 pin cable.

[DANE EARL]

You should be able to get a 4 pin to 4 pin cable.

Would the four pin to four pin cable degrade the capture capabilities?

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Not at all; you're just dealing with transferring data back and forth. Firewire is Firewire; the only major differences come in speed between Firewire 800 and Firewire 400; but that's not even a consideration in this. It's just that you need a smaller interface cable and as has been mentioned you can find them at pretty much any computer store-- Radio Shack for certain, though I've seen them at CVS before.

[DANE EARL]

Not at all; you're just dealing with transferring data back and forth. Firewire is Firewire; the only major differences come in speed between Firewire 800 and Firewire 400; but that's not even a consideration in this. It's just that you need a smaller interface cable and as has been mentioned you can find them at pretty much any computer store-- Radio Shack for certain, though I've seen them at CVS before.

Awesome, Thank you guys so much!

[Phil Rhodes]

For the record, the additional two pins carry power; because it's so patchily implemented, almost nothing ever uses it. Compare USB where everything mandatorially provides power, but only a fairly limited amount.

 

P

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Huh, as always Phil most of your posts always keep me learning something new. I never even gave a thought to why they had the extra pins; nor ever noticed any "powered" firewire devices. Any idea why it's so dodgy v USB?

[Phil Rhodes]

Because the theoretical maximum amount of power you're ever supposed to draw from a USB port is (for most current V2 ports) 500mA, and you're only supposed to do even that if you've fired up in a lower-power mode first and asked the host if it's OK.

 

Many USB hosts do provide this much and more power, and many devices assume that it is available without bothering to go through the request process. Needless to say, this is not to spec, and can cause problems.

 

P

[DANE EARL]

Because the theoretical maximum amount of power you're ever supposed to draw from a USB port is (for most current V2 ports) 500mA, and you're only supposed to do even that if you've fired up in a lower-power mode first and asked the host if it's OK.

 

Many USB hosts do provide this much and more power, and many devices assume that it is available without bothering to go through the request process. Needless to say, this is not to spec, and can cause problems.

 

P

Phil, Oddly enough I just read the same info about the additional two pins supplying power on Crutchfield.com. I already love this forum. The amount of knowledge available here is amazing. Thank you Phil, Adrian and Ryan for your help. I will be capturing and editing in no time.