With a Sony Handycam video camera and a Dell Inspiron laptop, you have everything you need to produce, edit and share high-quality videos. Regardless of the model you own, you can probably connect your Handycam to your Inspiron laptop and begin downloading movies from it within minutes -- unless it's an extremely old model that doesn't have a video-out port. With modern Handycams, connecting to your Dell laptop requires no more than a single USB cable. For older Handycam models -- with a video-out port -- you must use a special video-capture device.
Instructions
Handycams With USB
1. Insert the Sony Handycam software CD in your laptop's optical drive. Wait a few seconds for the setup wizard to appear. Then follow the on-screen prompts to install the camera driver and editing software on your computer. Restart your Dell notebook if prompted to do so.
2. Open the port cover on the Handycam camcorder and connect the small end of the USB cable to the mini-USB port. Connect the large, flat end of the cable to an empty USB port on your Inspiron laptop.
3. Power on the Handycam and set the selector switch to "On" or "Stand By." Wait a few seconds for Windows to detect and configure the camera and its internal memory card as an external storage device on your computer. After Windows displays a message confirming the installation of the memory card, close the small dialog box.
4. Close the Windows AutoPlay window if it appears after you connect the Handycam to your Dell laptop. Launch the Sony editing program you installed earlier. Use the program to import videos from your camera and edit them on your laptop.
Older Handycam Models
5. Insert the driver disc for the USB video capture device into the optical drive of your Inspiron laptop. After the setup wizard screen appears, follow the prompts to install the driver and capture software on your laptop. Reboot your laptop if prompted.
6. Connect the AC adapter to the video capture device if it has one. Connect the USB cable to the output port on the capture device and a free USB port on your Dell laptop. Turn on the capture device if it has a power button; some models don't.
7. Connect the appropriate cable to the Sony Handycam camcorder: composite, DV, iLink or RCA. Then connect the other end of the cable to the corresponding "Input" or "Source" port on the USB capture device. Power on the Handycam camcorder and set the selector switch to "On."
8. Launch the video capture program you installed earlier. Click the "Settings," "Preferences" or "Tools" menu bar option, then click the "Camera" or "Video Source" option. In the list of detected video devices, select the "USB camcorder" or "Detected Camcorder" option -- the list usually doesn't display the model or brand of the camera.
9. Click the "Import" or "Import Video" toolbar option in the capture program. Set the selector switch for the Handycam to "Play" or "Playback Mode." The video saved on the Handycam displays in the capture program preview window.
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