4 pin firewire connect for ADVC-100?

[ray808]

I'm thingking of by the canopus ADVC-100 to capture and convert analogue video (Video8 and VHS). I intend to use my laptop which has a 4 pin firewire input only. Can I connect the ADVC-100 to the laptop using the 4 pin output?

Has anyone compared the Dvico Fusion MPEG2 converter?

Thanks.

[ZAPPER]

Unless I am missing something you should be able to hook them up with the proper configuration of fire wire ends and have it work. The difference between a four pin and a six pin is two more wires for power supply. You can't power any other devices from your notebook (there are some new ones that can) The catch here may be your notebooks harddrive speed and or buffer. But you could tie in an external harddrive to the setup and control it from your note book.

[vhelp]

.
.
Although Firewire's (FW) actual throughput is 400mbits/sec (40mb/sec) DV only
needs 3mb/sec (more than enough for a notebook and slow harddrive)

I believe that you can use the ADVC-100 w/ your 4-pin notebook. On the
back of the ADVC, there is a 6-pin connector. My guess woudl be that it is
for the reverse. You put your normal FW 6-pin end into your ADVC-100 and
your 4-pin other end of cable into the laptop. I could be wrong, but I do hope
I'm not

Good luck,
-vhelp

[redwudz]

ZAPPER is correct. The 6 pin version includes the power leads and you don't want to draw power from your laptop anyway. The 4 pin and 6 pin versions are interchangeable with the proper cables or adapters.

I've tried my ADVC-100 with my laptop and it works fine. If you opt for an additional HD on the Firewire interface, it gets more dicey. It depends on your Firewire interface whether it can handle both at once. My cheap PCMCIA Firewire card couldn't, but could download to the internal drive just fine.