MiniDv to computer question

I use a dcr-hc62 sony unit to record video on and I'm really happy with the result. To make a long story short. I only used this camera a handful of times when I first bought it. Now I'm using it quite a bit again. Problem is my old desktop is gone, and I don't have a desktop at all any longet. The sony uses ilink 4pin connector. What are my options to transfer the minidv over to the computer to work on? How about recording off the tv wih a DVD recorder? For now I ordered a firewire express card for my laptop with a 4 to 6 pin connector. I couldn't find a four pin express card for the laptop. What are all the people that still use minidv doing? Some of the really high end camcorders are still mini dv, so I'm looking for options. I would like to continue using this camera for he time being. It's like brand new and I have lenses for it. My basic question are what are my different option o get the video from the camera to dvd?

Frodge wrote in post #16495510
I use a dcr-hc62 sony unit to record video on and I'm really happy with the result. To make a long story short. I only used this camera a handful of times when I first bought it. Now I'm using it quite a bit again. Problem is my old desktop is gone, and I don't have a desktop at all any longet. The sony uses ilink 4pin connector. What are my options to transfer the minidv over to the computer to work on? How about recording off the tv wih a DVD recorder? For now I ordered a firewire express card for my laptop with a 4 to 6 pin connector. I couldn't find a four pin express card for the laptop. What are all the people that still use minidv doing? Some of the really high end camcorders are still mini dv, so I'm looking for options. I would like to continue using this camera for he time being. It's like brand new and I have lenses for it. My basic question are what are my different option o get the video from the camera to dvd?

recording direct to DVD recorder will lose quality. Via the firewire link you can use winDV to download it and keep the best quality. There is another program that yo can use but the name I have forgotten. WinDV is a little quirky on my Windows 7 and I found I had to use it straight from a re-start. If the computer had gone to sleep and woken up, winDV wouldn't work.

The other thing is that miniDV files take up a lot of disk space so have plenty of empty space on that drive. iirc, it's 12 minutes of footage to 1GB. I bought a load of HDDs to keep the footage on as I have a lot of miniDVs. If you want to keep the footage for archiving and use disks, Blu Ray would be better.