I'm on W7 and using Pinnacle Studio Plus v12 which I like. New Sony camcorders use AVCHD files which are really difficult to edit in the program. Should I buy a program to convert these to DV or MPEG-2 files and continue with v12 or upgrade my Pinnacle program to work with AVCHD files? Either way will cost money, but I'd rather stick with v12 if ...

Thanks for a brief and clear reply! Sometimes it seems the software (or is it the hardware) goes backwards not forwards. It was much easier when the footage was captured with dates. 

Thanks for the replies. It's the dating of the video clips I'm after as I have a complex job, a whole year's footage from two camcorders which may in some cases be merged (holiday, Christmas) where the two families were together. With so many clips dates are essential. When Studio captured from my old DV camcorder all the footage was dated so I'd ...

Now considering getting a card reader, but how is that is different from connecting the camcorder to the pc? Studio can't recognise the camcorder but will it be able to recognise the card and import (or capture) the video? 

I hadn't planned to use Sony's software Playmemories Home but if I do will the files be dated as before? They are not dated when I use Windows Media Player.

I am using Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 with a desktop computer running W7 and trying to import video from a Sony Camcorder HDR-PJ240E which I think uses AVCHD. When I open Studio and try to capture from the camcorder via USB Studio does not recognise the camcorder. When I open Studio and try to use ‘import  media’ via USB Studio does not ...

Thanks for all this helpful info. I am not capturing analogue and only want the firewire, but the new computer is reconditioned and does not have this port. However, am calling a computer guy out to do this and a couple of other things, so hopefully he will be able to get my firewire working. I will definitely mention all these posts relating to ...

Thank you very much for that. When I get the new computer shall I just put the Studio capture card inside first, then switch the computer on, then install this file? 

It must be version 2 because it currently works with Vista and version 1 doesn't. The capture board was designed for analogue but I'm not using that any more. It's just the firewire socket I need, so do I have to install anything on the new computer? I was hoping Windows 7 would just pick up the firewire port and accept it.

Will Windows 7 work with this old video capture board? I'm hoping to put it into a PCI slot and capture from my old Sony camcorder through the firewire socket. I'm using Studio 12 Plus.