MacBook and Firewire

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

My MacBook doesn't have Firewire, but USB. In an attempt to download DV mini tapes onto i-movie, went into the Apple store to find out what I was doing wrong, and the problem was that it didn't have a firewire connection.

Any ideas how to convert USB connection into firewire?

You can't, I'm afraid. It is immensely annoying that Apple have chosen to leave FW out of some Macs now, for reasons like the one you are having. I'm assuming that your camera can only transfer via firewire, not USB?

One thing you can do is get the tapes onto another Mac and then transfer the files. I can, come to think of it, think of a way of getting them straight on to your MacBook via another Mac (one that has firewire) but it really would be the sport of nerds. If you know someone with a MiniDV camera that works via USB you could borrow that, and put the tapes in it to transfer them to your own MacBook.

But to answer your question, you can't convert USB to firewire; it isn't possible- whatever you do will require a different computer or a different camera.

Thanks for the response! . Yes, Sony video camera only transfers via firewire, and not USB. The Mac Pro, I think may have firewire, but it's not really helpful as I have just MacBook.

We have tons and tons of Mini DVs and was hoping to transfer them into DVDs. It's something like £15.00 per hour if I take them to Jessops. Oh well.

If you really have tons and tons why not buy a 2nd hand Mac with FW (almost anything will do as long as it has a DVD burner), and do the job on that, then sell it again? An eMac would be an option- they're cheap on eBay (there's one there at the moment for £100 that would do nicely here). Bear in mind they are heavy, so try to buy locally and avoid postage costs. I suggest you get something running Mac OSX 10.4 or later (Tiger, Leopard, or Snow Leopard), though you can do it on something running an older OS.

Ingesting video is pretty time-consuming so having a separate computer that you can leave getting on with it would be more convenient, too.

It would certainly be cheaper than Jessops!