How to transfer handycam tapes to PC running Windows 7

[cathiecamp]

I've got an old DCR-HC9OE handycam. I lost a bunch of tapes (including my honeymoon!) during a move to the US. Having now found the tapes, I am keen to transfer the footage onto my PC. However my PC is running on Windows 7 now and the Picture Package software which came with the camcorder is not compatible. Is there a way round this??

Message was edited by: cathiecamp

Message was edited by: cathiecamp

[blaireau_photo · Accepted solution]

Hi cathiecamp - welcome to the Sony Forums.

I was in exactly the same situation when I upgraded my PC from Windows XP to Windows 7 and I have ended up running two different solutions on the same machine.

1) As I still had a copy of Windows XP with a valid licence code, I installed it on to my PC as a backup (if you have a Windows XP CD, it will also act as a 'boot disc' so you can insert the CD into your PC, turn it off and on and if all is well, it will automatically load the CD and by following the instructions on screen you will install XP as a backup). This can take up to an hour depending on your PC but having a backup system does have other advantages.

2) Many commercial video editors are able to capture video footage straight from the camcorder onto your PC (my old version of Pinnacle Studio was also able to control the tape playback without having to push the buttons on the camera). There are a variety to choose from and most of them offer a free trial when you download so you can see what works before buying (possibly around £50 for a basic editor but deals always seem to be cropping up at the moment!).

Good luck!

Simon

[cathiecamp]

Thanks Simon. I really wasn't sure what to do as this model of camera seems to be the only one not covered by the software solution Sony suggests. I will have a look to see if I can find the XP disc and give this a go!

Many Thanks for your help!

[blaireau_photo]

Glad to have been of help. If you can get an XP environment running it is always handy to fall back on if you encounter any other issues with older software in the future.

One little extra thing I should point out is that if you take a mental note of the folder that you save your videos into when using XP, you will be able to access these when booting up in Windows 7 and vice versa.

Simon