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Step 1
Identify the ports you have on your computer and Sony video camera. Typically there will be a small door or flap at the rear or near the bottom that covers the ports. You computer may have ports in the front as well as the rear. You video camera may have more than one of these ports and may not have all of them.
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Step 2
Find the i.LINK port. i.LINK is Sony's version of IEEE-1394 standard (aka) Firewire. It is commonly found on DV (Digital Video) varieties of Sony camcorders. You may find the smaller 4 pin connector on your camera if it is a compact video camera. Typically the larger 6 pin variety is found on computers and larger camcorders. i.LINK transfers both video and audio. For more information click on "How i.LINK Works" in the Resources section.
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Step 3
Find the USB port. USB (Universal Serial Bus) is another connector like i.LINK for transferring digital video and audio. Typically a mini USB connector such as the "Mini-A" will be found on your camcorder than large flat "Type A" connector typically found on computers.
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Step 4
Locate the S-Video jack. The S-Video jack is a round 4 pin analog connector. S-Video is for only video transmission. You will need to connect the red and white audio RCA jacks or use a phono port to transfer the audio to your computer.
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Step 5
Find RCA Audio/Video Jacks. These round single pin ports usually are found in a set of three of different colors. Yellow is video, red is for right audio, and white is for left audio. On some Handycam's, there may be a mini-plug that is an all in one Audio/Video jack that you plug in a special cable (as seen in the photo) that connects your camera to standard yellow, red, and white RCA jacks on your computer.
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Step 6
Choose a matching pair of ports you have on both your computer and your Sony camcorder.
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Step 7
Turn both your computer and camcorder off.
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Step 8
Connect your computer and camcorder with the appropriate cable. Turn on both your camcorder and your computer.
