broken firewire suggestions please

[daverose808]

i have a sony trv-27 mini dv digital camcorder.

it was transferring video to my pc thru the firewire/i-link wire perfectly for over a year.

one day, while transferring, i accidentally tugged on the wire and it stopped capturing/being recognized by my pc. i know its not the pc ports or the wire bc i ran multiple tests (bought new wire, installed new firewire ports, but most importantly, plugged in a friend's camcorder thru the same wire and pc port and that was recognized... so its definitly the camcorder).

i asked a repair company (since it was past the warranty) what could be done, and she honestly recommended i buy a new one bc the firewire piece in the camcorder is directly connected to the main board, and repairing that would cost so much that it wouldnt be worth the money, that it would make more sense to buy a new one.

i think i trust that info (it was a reliable company, and why would they want to lose biz?)

now, my question is:
are there any alternative solutions? (is there a way to get my dv videos onto my pc without buying a whole new camcorder?)
for example, is there a cheap little dv tape machine that i could buy that connects via firewall to a pc? sort of like a mini-dv version of a vcr, but one that connects to the pc?

or some other alternative solution? (ive even considered buying the cheapest, crappiest mini-dv camcorder just for its connectivity, and if there are no other suggestions, that is probably what i will have to do)

thanks alot!

[Richard_G]

A cheap, bottom of the range, camcorder to use purely to transfer footage shot on your TRV27 is likely to be your cheapest option. MiniDV playback decks are available but, as they only tend to be used in pro setups, are much more expensive.

[gshelley61]

Look for a decent used one on eBay. There are lots of them available, and for playback should work fine (you are just reading a digital stream from the tape and sending it through the firewire). The camcorders cost less than MiniDV playback decks.

[GeorgeW]

Tape speed will come into play if you happened to use the LP recording speed on your camcorder (90 minutes per 60-minute tape). LP tapes can have problems playing back on anything but the camcorder that made the original recording.

If you did use LP mode, then you might want to at least stick with a Sony camcorder (better chances of clean playback). If you only used SP mode for recording, then you could probably get away with any cheap camcorder...

[Skith]

just to be sure it is the camcorder (not windows), try connecting your camcorder to your friends computer.

[daverose808]

thanks for all the suggestions...

i dont think ebay will be a good idea. what if the firewire piece in the camcorder also is broken... returns are not so simple with ebay sellers. moreover, having learned that these firewire pieces are pretty delicate in the first place, it definitly seems more sensible to buy a new model and at least have that feeling of security bc of the typical 1 year warranty.

as for tape speed, i think i only use sp. but thanks for bringing that to my attention.

any cheap models that fit these specs come to mind?

[daverose808]

skith, thank you as well. but its definitly not windows... i did extensive testing before i finally determined what the problem was, including your thoughtful suggestion.

but if any of u do have any good recommendations for a cheap "docking" mini-dv camcorder, id really appreciate it.

[gshelley61]

I've bought and sold many times on eBay, including dozens of consumer electronics items. I've only run across one or two lemons in all those purchases. Most people are straight up, especially if they have great feedback. Many offer returns if not satisfied, too. Check the Sears Liquidation Center there. They sell lots of customer returns and you might be able to score a real bargain on basically a new unit.

[daverose808]

hm, very tempting...
i will definitly take a look, especially if its from something like a real company like sears which could have a genuine return policy, thank you so much.

[daverose808]

darn - went to ebay, and the sears liquidation center offers returns only for mis-shipments, not for defective camcorders.... oh well, worth checking out tho, thanks.