Sony camcorder direct to DVD?

[S Richman]

Since I don't think the problem here is with my Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition, I probably shouldn't be posting
here, but I'm hoping someone might have a tip that could
solve this problem anyway.

I have a Sony DCR-TRV17 miniDV camcorder with an iLink
connection; a Dell Dimensions 8200 with an old Dazzle*
device; a D-Link DFW-500 PCI FireWire card; and a Sony
DVD burner (forgot the model #, oops - connects with
firewire and burns all DVD formats).

I can capture video using MGI VideoWave software, and I
can convert the video to MPeg2 and make lovely DVDs, but
I've seen a Direct-to-DVD option in MyDVD that I'd LOVE
to get working.

When I plug my camcorder in to any of the firewire ports
on my computer, Windows shows the Sony DV Camcorder in My
Computer, and Windows pops up a Digital Video Device
window where I can Record Video using Windows Movie Maker
or (supposedly) Record Direct to DVD or Make a DVD with
Sonic Solutions. Movie Maker works with it, but MyDVD
complains that "No valid video capture devices were
detected...." I found a Sonic FAQ that suggested using a
generic firewire driver, but that didn't help.

Could my firewire inputs be so old that this will never
work, but getting a different firewire card would help?

Is Sony so proprietary that this will never work unless I
buy a Sony PC?

Is there software out there other than MyDVD that will do
this direct to DVD that I'm obsessing about (while I wait
for a better home stereo/TV DVD recorder to come out)?

Thanks in advance for any helpful tips, commiserating, or
anything that will help me solve this problem (or at
least keep me from beating my head against the wall).

 

[MAP]

-----Original Message-----
Since I don't think the problem here is with my Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition, I probably shouldn't be posting
here, but I'm hoping someone might have a tip that could
solve this problem anyway.

I have a Sony DCR-TRV17 miniDV camcorder with an iLink
connection; a Dell Dimensions 8200 with an old Dazzle*
device; a D-Link DFW-500 PCI FireWire card; and a Sony
DVD burner (forgot the model #, oops - connects with
firewire and burns all DVD formats).

I can capture video using MGI VideoWave software, and I
can convert the video to MPeg2 and make lovely DVDs, but
I've seen a Direct-to-DVD option in MyDVD that I'd LOVE
to get working.

When I plug my camcorder in to any of the firewire ports
on my computer, Windows shows the Sony DV Camcorder in My
Computer, and Windows pops up a Digital Video Device
window where I can Record Video using Windows Movie Maker
or (supposedly) Record Direct to DVD or Make a DVD with
Sonic Solutions. Movie Maker works with it, but MyDVD
complains that "No valid video capture devices were
detected...." I found a Sonic FAQ that suggested using a
generic firewire driver, but that didn't help.

Could my firewire inputs be so old that this will never
work, but getting a different firewire card would help?

Is Sony so proprietary that this will never work unless I
buy a Sony PC?

Is there software out there other than MyDVD that will do
this direct to DVD that I'm obsessing about (while I wait
for a better home stereo/TV DVD recorder to come out)?

Thanks in advance for any helpful tips, commiserating, or
anything that will help me solve this problem (or at
least keep me from beating my head against the wall).

I think that I am looking for a similar answer. I have a
Sony DCR-TRV520 camcorder and I can capture the video into
Movie Maker running Windows XP Media Center Edition using
Firewire. I can edit the clips and when I get ready to
save it in Movie Maker to a dvd, it does not allow me to
do so. It is looking for a CD writer and not a DVD writer.
If there is a direct way to do this, I sure would like to
know also. This my first attempt at converting my digital
home movies to dvd and it is frustrating. I was told by
the sales people that this software would do all this. Any
suggestions out there??? Good luck.