I'm just wondering if anybody can tell me how to connect a mini-DV digital camcorder to a PC using an i.link/firewire cable.

I haven't actually bought a cable yet, but I'm assured the picture quality is infinitely better than USB. Trouble is, I don't know how I would go about hooking it up.

Any ideas?

We connect ours in that way. Just had to buy a firewire card for the PC and a cable. :thumbsup:

A firewire card? I knew I'd need something else! Where do you install/insert that?

And does it make a big improvement to the video quality?

You just slot the card into one of the PCI slots inside the back of the PC, and connect the cable from that to the camcorder. It does make the picture quality a lot better.

Cheers Patchy, much appreciated. One more thing...

Any recommendations? Do I need a specific model? And what's the difference between six-pin and four-pin?

Sorry, I know that's actually THREE more things. But I'm a novice, and eager to get some decent footage on to my computer as soon as possible and with minimum fuss.

You can pick up a firewire card for under £15 from small PC shops around Sheffield. Most modern camcorders have 4-pin sockets, so just make sure the cable has 4-pins on one end and either 4 or 6 on the other end depending on how many pins the card has.

you make it sound so easy...