Ben said:
is there a way to plug my video camera into my computer
and extract what I've recorded so that I can edit it on
Movie Maker?
Hi Ben,
depends on which camcorder you have (as you plan to use MM, I guess, you have WinXP - SP1?)
Most DV (MiniDV, Digital8, etc.) camcorders you can connect through IEEE 1394 (aka firewire, aka i.Link) - USB 2.0 Full-Speed is simply to slow! (DV will transfer ~3.61MB/s - ~13GB/h => diskspace! - if your camcorder has also DV-IN, you may store the edited "project" back to a tape in the camcorder (full DV quality, free up diskspace)).
....You need at least a noname, lowcost, OHCI-compliant IEEE 1394 controller and a IEEE 1394 cable (in most cases a 6-4-pin cable - not the cheapest one - it should be a good one (a lot of problems are caused by the cable)). Since WXP-SP1 contains all nessesary drivers, you simply can plug the camcorder and swith och in "Play" or "VTR" mode, the camcorder should be detected and you should be able to capture within MM...
Be shure, you connect in the right order (see e.g.
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/professional/tib/tib7042.jhtml - I've seen many users posting about dead IEEE on the camcorder)
If you have an analogue camcorder (hi8,v8, etc.) you have to use a capturecard, which can capture your analogue signals - once you have installed the drivers, you should see it in MM
