Video transfer to Mac

[mummyfroggy]

I have a DCR-TVR19E  and a MacBook Pro running High Sierra 10.13.6

Can anybody tell me what sort of cable I would need to transfer the video?  I have tried a High Grade USB for Sony DCR but it wasn't found by laptop.  I'm a complete novice to this.

Thank you

[rooobb]

Your only option if I'm right on the age of your camcorder is an iLink cable (that AFAIK is not supported on latest iMac or Windows machine for that matter)

[darkframe]

Hi @mummyfroggy,

I'm afraid that @rooobb is right. I've got a full (German) PDF manual of that camera on my PC in which it says that for transferring images/movies from the camera to your Mac you need to establish an i.Link (i.e. Firewire) connection and use a software called "ImageMixer VCD2" (I didn't find a Mac OS version by the way). It additionally reads that you cannot transfer your shots via USB to your Mac. Furthermore you'd need at least QuickTime 4 (preferably version 5).

Well, regarding Firewire/i.Link Mac and Win users are sharing the very same problem meanwhile. Neither Mac OS nor the latest Win versions do support Firewire anymore. For Windows users there are some extension cards available coming with drivers which are said to be working in a Windows 10 environment as well (I won't bet on that though) but I doubt that something similar is existing for Mac users. Furthermore most (old) Firewire drivers are programmed in 32bit. While this would be no problem in Win 10 (which is 64bit but allows using 32bit software) that certainly is another killer when using Mac High Sierra as that OS prevents you from running 32bit software (as far as I know).

To keep a long story short: You'll need to find somebody with a (still working) old Mac or Win PC (ideally Win XP or 7) which has got a Firewire slot AND the correct cable AND the necessary software for transferring your videos OR you'd need to find a shop doing the job for you.

Cheers

darkframe