Help with Sony DCR-HC42E

[ianbu]

Hi, i recently purchased a Sony DCR HC42E DV camcorder, it came with Sony Picture Package version 1.5
I can get pictures onto my pc but at first i was unable to getsound on my pc, only picture.
I was told that my pc which is XP home eddition has the wrong audio driver installed ( how i do not know, its been fine since purchased just over a year ago!)
My audio driver is Realtek AC'97 Audio
A while back i purchased for an old annalouge cam a Dazzle DVC 90. This has been un installed but when i change the audio device on the Picture package to Dazzle DVC 90, i can get sound ,but the sound is distorted.
Now has anyone got any ideas as to why the previously installed driver does not get any sound and is there anyway that the distorted sound can be changed?
Hope someone can help

Ian

[Richard_G]

Sony picture package is intended for pictures not video although it will do a pretty poor job if you really must use it. I suspect you are transferring using USB too. The USB connection on a camcorder is to transfer stills and low quality webcam type video. Buy a Firewire card and cable if your computer doesn't have one already and transfer (not capture, it is a bit for bit transfer from one storage medium, the tape, to another, the hard drive) footage to DV avi using WinDV (which is simple, reliable and free!).

[ianbu]

Thanks for reply Richard,
I take it thats why the audio that i get is distorted?
With my old analouge cam i used the Dazzle DVC90 to capture the video/audio. I have tried this so i assume that its for analouge only and not Dv. Is that right?

cheers again

Ian

[Richard_G]

You could use the Dazzle unit but it won't make life easy and may not give good results. The video on the tape in the camcorder is digital so the camera has to convert it to analogue, pass it to the Dazzle which then converts it back to digital. Firewire just copies the data over. If you don't have a Firewire card try this
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=407
£6.99 and comes complete with cable and DVD authoring software.