FireWire adapter card

[BigDaddyJ]

Need some advice here gang. I got a Dell Dimension 4100 PC about a year ago. I had them include a Canon ZR10 digital camcorder also. The salesperson told me that everything I would need to transfer video to my PC would be included. I did receive the 1394 firewire but I dont have the proper adapter card. I am running Win98se. My question is how should I go about buying the card and how much could I expect to spend? From what Ive read most of the cards are similar and that I should look for a card that comes with a software package. I have plenty of availiable slots on my MOBO. Any help would be appreciated.

[Jumby]

CompUSA has the card. http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=285856

[diypc]

I have a card and software from Canopus (canopuscorp.com). I think it is a medium level card (the raptor) and when i bought it it was priced around $320.00. they also have one priced around 150.00 (may be lower now) called ezdv. I think you really get what you pay for. I think canopus makes the best cards(at least they were about a year and a half ago). I am very pleased with mine. You should also check out the stuff Pinnacle makes and there are also other companies that have a good reputation. Getting a good card and software is important because video editing on your home computer can get very problematic- many people have lots of problems and you will see that when you go on video editing forums. I suggest you check out some forums exclusively on desktop video editing to get the most from this investment. I would suggest getting one from a company like canopus or pinnacle because they are very popular and getting help when things go wrong is easy. You also get very good software bundled with the card which makes for a very good deal. Considering that when i bought my card Adobe Premier (one of the better dv eiting programs) cost about $500 and it came with my card for less than 400$! The forum at the canopus website is good and you will hear comments from people who ave tried other cards. There are other forums also and i cant remember what they are called- you could probably find them by doing a search on yahoo or something for "desktop video editing".

[diypc]

remember- these cards are not all the same!
check out this article. Sums it up well. http://www.cyberfilmschool.com/columns/saylor_DV101_9.htm

[BigDaddyJ]

Thanks for the input guys. Didn't realize so much was involved. So, does the software need to be compatible with card? Or can I shop around for a good deal on both ends(card and software)?