Uploading footage with no firewire port at DVinfo.net

James Brie · July 7th, 2009, 03:25 PM

Hello,
I'm looking to purchase an Acer Aspire 8920G laptop but I have just learned, much to my dismay, that this model comes with no firewire port. Instead it uses USB2.0. Would I be able to upload miniDV footage onto this laptop with no firewire port? Would USB2.0 work? If not, what creative methods might I have to employ to get the footage onto my computer?

Thank you for your time and information.

Regards.

Don DesJardin · July 7th, 2009, 06:32 PM

You should be able to purchase a PCMICA firewire card for under $50, as long as your laptop has a slot for it. The slot is usually located on the side of the computer.

Bill Koehler · July 8th, 2009, 01:23 PM

Assuming it is this machine:

Products

It looks like you will have to get a FireWire adapter card that will plug into the laptops ExpressCard/54 slot.

This link shows a good sample:

ExpressCard to FireWire | B&H Photo Video

According to this link, the narrower cards (ExpressCard/34) plug into either ExpressCard/34 or ExpressCard/54 slots.

ExpressCard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Brie · July 9th, 2009, 02:27 PM

Thanks for the replies, they are very informative.

Peter Moretti · July 10th, 2009, 02:55 AM

Do you know if this computer can work with Avid anyway?

James Brie · July 10th, 2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Moretti

Do you know if this computer can work with Avid anyway?

I just assumed it would. I know some pieces of hardware are not compatible with Avid but I didn't realize entre systems can be incompatible. How would I find out?

Thank you.

Peter Moretti · July 11th, 2009, 01:18 AM

You should go over to Avid's website and look up the recommended laptop system requirements for the version of Media Composer you'll be using.

Avid is very hardware and OS specific. It's a great program, but it is the pickiest of all the PC NLE's about what it needs to run.

July 7th, 2009, 03:25 PM	#1
James Brie New Boot Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 14	Uploading footage with no firewire port Hello, I'm looking to purchase an Acer Aspire 8920G laptop but I have just learned, much to my dismay, that this model comes with no firewire port. Instead it uses USB2.0. Would I be able to upload miniDV footage onto this laptop with no firewire port? Would USB2.0 work? If not, what creative methods might I have to employ to get the footage onto my computer? Thank you for your time and information. Regards.

July 7th, 2009, 06:32 PM	#2
Don DesJardin Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ventura, California, USA Posts: 255	You should be able to purchase a PCMICA firewire card for under $50, as long as your laptop has a slot for it. The slot is usually located on the side of the computer. __________________ Don DesJardin

July 10th, 2009, 02:55 AM	#5
Peter Moretti Trustee Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks, CA Posts: 1,259	Do you know if this computer can work with Avid anyway? __________________ Avid Media Composer 3.1.3. Boris Red and Continuum Complete. Vegas 8.0c. TMPGEnc Xpress Pro 4.0

July 11th, 2009, 01:18 AM	#7
Peter Moretti Trustee Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sherman Oaks, CA Posts: 1,259	You should go over to Avid's website and look up the recommended laptop system requirements for the version of Media Composer you'll be using. Avid is very hardware and OS specific. It's a great program, but it is the pickiest of all the PC NLE's about what it needs to run. __________________ Avid Media Composer 3.1.3. Boris Red and Continuum Complete. Vegas 8.0c. TMPGEnc Xpress Pro 4.0

July 8th, 2009, 01:23 PM	#3
Bill Koehler Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia, USA Posts: 760	Assuming it is this machine: Products It looks like you will have to get a FireWire adapter card that will plug into the laptops ExpressCard/54 slot. This link shows a good sample: ExpressCard to FireWire \| B&H Photo Video According to this link, the narrower cards (ExpressCard/34) plug into either ExpressCard/34 or ExpressCard/54 slots. ExpressCard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

July 9th, 2009, 02:27 PM	#4
James Brie New Boot Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 14	Thanks for the replies, they are very informative.