1394 PCI card

[Mart]

I am currently using Video Studio Pro X4 on a 32-bit system running Windows XP. I have a Pinnacle Studio Plus 700 PCI card (1394 firewire) installed that bought in early 2006 and I connect my Canon Legria HV40 camera to my computer through this card. I also have a break-out box through which I can connect this card to an old analogue camera although I hardly ever do that any more. I am just in the process of upgrading to a new computer which will be a 64-bit system running Windows 7. I am considering transferring the Pinnacle card to the new computer and would like to know if this is possible i.e. is there a compatibility issue and if not do I need a new driver.
Alternatively I am considering leaving the card set up up in the old computer which I might use occasionally and in which case I would need to buy a new card for the new computer. I have been on the internet and looked at cards but I am now totally confused about what I need and what I might expect to pay. Can any one suggest a specific card (i.e. model) that would do the job and where I might obtain such a card. Some of my confusion arises from the fact that I paid over $400 for the old Pinnacle card and I see a range of other cards from less than $20!! I have spoken to Corel Customer support who recommend buying a Nvidia card but cannot tell me which one!!

[DVDDoug]

You are probably going to need a new driver. There is some chance that Windows 7 comes with a driver that will work. There is a smaller chance that Pinnacle has an updated driver.

the fact that I paid over $400 for the old Pinnacle card and I see a range of other cards from less than $20!!

1394 (Firewire) is cheap now, and is built-into some motherboards. Did the price you paid include the analog "breakout box"? That was probably the costly part, and that box should (hopefully) work with any Firewire port.

[Mart]

Thanks for your reply, DVDDoug, and for confirming the compatibility of the card with the new system.

Yes the Pinnacle card came with the break-out box.
My new computer is currently being put together for me and I have been asked to advise what sort of card I would like them to put in to it. As I indicated in my original post, I am considering leaving the old card in the old computer and buing a new card for the new computer. You tell me that a 1394 firewire card is cheap now but I am still confused by the array of cards I find on the internet (I'm not at all knowledgeable in this regard). From what I have seen on the internet, it is not always clear whether the cards referred to are 1394 or not. Can you suggest therefore a specific card that I could tell the computer builder to find for me? The break out box is not essential but if it were to fit into a new card it has a 26 pin plug on the end and would thus need an appropriate socket on the card although I repeat that is not essential and it wouldn't worry me too much if I couldn't fit the break-out box to a new card.

[skier-hughes]

You would need to ask pinnacle if the card is compatible with Win7 and I be they'll just say no because it is old. ONly one way to find out, that's to try it.
If you fit a firewire card, it just needs to be IEEE1394a compatible, amazon have hundreds to choose from.

[Mart]

Thanks for that Graham. I did ask Pinnacle about compatibility this afternoon before I received your response and they said yes it is compatible - not sure if they are making that up or not!! As you say i can try it out and see once the computer is built.

Re the 1394 card: From your reply it seems that I may be reading to many compications into selecting an appropriate card. If all I need to specify is one that is IEEE 1394a then that is easy. I assume from what you say that 1394B is not appropriate?

I have been asked to check these matters out by the man who is building my new system. Whilst he is very knowledgeable about computer systems, and I have been using him successfully for years, it seems that he knows nothing about VideoStudio. He has now suggested that I should find out if I can install VideoStudio pro X4 on the new computer from the "upgrade disc" and if so will the program recognise the PCI card. He is suggesting that the "upgrade" disc may not have all the software that would be on a disc purchased with a completely new program and that as a result therefore the disc may not be recognised. I have tried contacting Corel by phone and that was a disaster as the consumer support person I spoke to was virtiually unintelligible. I have also tried emailing them. I typed my questions into their email format three times and each time it was rejected!! I have now resorted to writing to them by pigeon post but I am not holding my breath for a response.

[Black Lab]

The upgrade disc has the full program. But because it is an upgrade it will ask you for a previous version's serial number before it will install.

[skier-hughes]

IEEE1394a uses either a 4 pin or 6 pin connection. Works at 400Mbps
IEEE1394b uses a 9 pin connection and works at 800Mbps.
Any camcorder made uses IEEE1394a, so it's a waste of money purchasing a b system.

[Mart]

Thank you Graham and jeff for your responses to my queries - much appreciated. I think I now have all the answers I need to set up the new computer.