Picture Quality Problem : What am I doing wrong ???

[chamn]

Guys, thank you so much for your precious advice. Will proceed with the plan of installing firewire card on my PC and will keep you posted on the result.

Cheers... :D

[Rich2Putt]

I agree with Ken, most pc's have a 6 pin firewire connection, but check your pc card before you purchase one. My Gateway 500XL has a 4pin Fireware. A Fireware cable in the US cost around $29 - $39............

[thecoalman]

I endorse what Torsten had to say -- except maybe the statement "so a camcorder that is connected using a FireWire cable won't even be recognized", when I am sure his finger slipped and he meant to say 'USB cable'!!

No he is correct, some firewire cards using non- TI chips won't work well with some brands.

As far as the 6-pin Vs. 4 pin what choose is whatever is installed on your computer. A DV cam can have a 4 pin to 4pin if you have 4 pin port on the computer. The additional 2 pins carry power, since a DV cam supplies it's own power it only requires a 4 pin port. On a 6 pin to 4 pin cable the additional two pins are dummy pins on the 6 pin side, of course it is required to plug into a 6 pin port. Most firewire cards come with both 6 pin and 4 pin ports. A 4 pin to 4 pin cable will work fine if your cam only has 4-pin and you have a 4 pin port on your comp.

I-Link, Firewire and 1394 are all the same there is no difference except for who owns the name. It just adds to the confusion.

Firewire = Apple
I-Link = Sony
IEEE 1394 = Generic. (in name not neccesarily quality)

[chamn]

Guys,

Perfect! Beautiful & very clear. It cost me RM58 for the firewire card with firewire cable. Very cheap for self satisfaction :D

By the way, I encountered another problem that is when I "capture as still image", the image is shrink on left and right side of the picture. The picture will look taller or thinner. Why? In the "Preferences" I can only set - Save as "JPEG" or "BITMAP". Is there any other setting to play with?

Thanks.