How can I transfer Digital 8 tape to HP Media Center to make a DVD?

Question by sarlha: How can I transfer Digital 8 tape to HP Media Center to make a DVD?
I tried asking this under computers and am not getting any responses – so now I will try another area.

I have a Sony Digital 8 Handy Cam. I can connect the cam to the computer using a USB cord, but I can’t figure out how to transfer it to make a DVD. I do have a DVD writer. When I try to copy it to the computer, it takes so long the battery always loses power. Any suggestions on how to do it? As far as software, my computer has ArcSoft Showbiz 2 (I am not sure if this is the right program) and Windows Movie Maker.

Can I copy directly from the Sony cam to a DVD? If so, how? I don’t care about the editing right now. I just need to figure out how to get them off the tapes.

Best answer:

Answer by iridflare
The USB connection is for video streaming, it’s not for video capture, which is what you want to do. To capture the video you need a firewire connection. If your PC doesn’t already have one, firewire cards are cheap, readily available and easy to install. You’ll also need a capture app – you can use Showbiz for that.

Once you’ve captured your video you’ll end up with a number of .avi files on your computer. These are just computer files, so you can copy them to DVD just like any other file. You will not be able to play them though – all you’ve done is make an archive copy of your video files! If you want a playable DVD, you’ll need to use Showbiz to create one.

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