How to import video from a camera with only a USB port

[johnkoke]

I have a client that shot video using a Sony DCR-SR40 camera. She tells me that this is a camera that stores on a hard drive, and it connects to her computer with a USB cable. Can anyone tell me how to import video into my Prestige using a USB port instead of a firewire?

[TimKennelly]

For all practical purposes you cannot import video via USB1 ports (that is all the Prestige has), John.

You would need to either firewire or ethernet it over to the Prestige from a PC or use Disk Transfer.

Unfortunately, any of those methods require you to have some very specific PC software to be compatible with your Prestige.

I have used Sony Vegas (Pro or Movie Studio) to create compatible AVI files for firewire and ethernet and Ashampoo Burning Studio to burn them to DVD so they work in our machines with Disk Transfer.

Most software will not do either successfully as our systems are very finicky PC compatibility-wise.

[chetdavis]

Hello John,

I just did a quick check and the DCR-SR40 apparently has an AV connector supplied with the camera
that enables output to composite video/audio (RCA/Phono plugs). There is also an optional AV connector set with an S-video output. At least that's what the Manual point to...
(http://www.docs.sony.com/release/DCRSR4 ... ook_EN.pdf). So as long as your customer has the cable/s - you should be in business!

(it was good seeing you again last week at our Casablanca Seminar in Fort Wayne, IN).

Regards,
Chet

[johnkoke]

Thank you, gentlemen. I will try your different ideas out and let you know what happens.
John

[videojim]

I have a similar plight with my Sony HDR -SR11. Import to the computer, burn a dvd and import from the dvd using the software in the editor. Going with the av ports renders you a non-digital signal. You might as well be shooting with a vhs machine that way. Going thru the DVD at least keeps up the quality.

[TimKennelly]

Going with the av ports renders you a non-digital signal. You might as well be shooting with a vhs machine that way. Going thru the DVD at least keeps up the quality.

Wow, I would strongly disagree with that opinion.

Analog YC input of a high resolution signal is superior to a digitally input DVD which is using the relatively highly compressed MPEG-2 format.

Only over multiple analog passes (not needed) would you suffer generation losses that would give a inferior result to a DVD formatted input.

[Hardy]

Analog YC input of a high resolution signal is superior to a digitally input DVD which is using the relatively highly compressed MPEG-2 format.

If the source is of high quality, this might be true. The HDR -SR11 however saves the video as a heavily compressed MPEG stream. Though I don't think it would make much difference here other than direct analog copy to the Casablanca is less hassle than all the copy to and from and conversion with the PC.

[TimKennelly]

That is not exactly correct according to the stats on the cam I looked at.

The unit can record in the inferior standard DVD MPEG-2 mode or in the vastly superior 1080i AVCHD format.