Camcorder used as webcam

Hi guys, great board. Obviously, i'm very new to them.

I have an acer laptop computer with usb ports on the side, purchased in, 2002 or 2003. My parents bought me a JVC camcorder, model number
GR-D347U. I'm trying to use it on my computer as a webcam. I went to radio shack and bought a DV cable which attaches to my computer by USB. When i do this, a message comes up like device not recognized and then has 2 ports listed in the window. My cam corder has no software with it or anything. Is there a program i need so windows can recognize the camcorder liek a webcam? Also on this DV cable there is no core filter, which is shown in the instrution manual of the camcorder. Can you guys help me out? Thanks in adcvance :) sorry if i havent given you enough information. just ask and i can supply more on my limited knowledge basis. Thanks!

-G

Welcome to Windrivers Novice Web Cammer

Short answer - yes - read here This starts you on page 4 of the article, go back to the beginning and read the whole thing and no, page 3 does not apply to you - sorry.

Long answer... a web camera streams images to a pc and then using the likes of msn can be displayed and relayed across the web. A DV camcorder doesn't usually have that functionality built in (although there are some exceptions).

The DV cable your bought from radio shack is NOT a dv cable if it's USB.
reading your user manual here there is no streaming capability. Also it either connects via analogue rca jacks or digital i-link also known as firewire or 1394. Have you possibly mistaken usb for firewire? Can you look on the radio shack site and post a link to the cable you bought?

Until we get the cable confusion sorted, I can't be specific.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

ok man, this is basically what i bought at radio shack. it says it suppose to work with a camcorder, so idk. but as you can see it as a usb port connector on the on end. so will this work? I listed another camcorder i'm thinking of buying instead. Will this cable work with it?

Since you're far more knowledgeable about this type of thing. can you tell me if this Sony Model will work as a webcam? i found this site with the specs for it. Its a Sony DCR-HC28 Mini DV Handycam Camcorder.

http://www.cyberscholar.com/Sony/res...0SpecSheet.pdf

I thought so, this is easily done if you don't compare them... the description says 6-Ft. IEEE 1394 4-Pin to 6-Pin Cable - it's not usb, if you compare the large plug with any of your usb devices, you will notice that the firewire plug is a slightly different shape and wider.

The sony doesn't do webcam automatically - it says USB Streaming: N/A
Interesting it also doesn't have a memory stick feature either which alot of sonys do. Having said that, the still picture quality was very very poor in most cases and not worth having anyway!

In for a penny, in for a pound. If your notebook has a Cardbus slot, you can find Firewire cards starting around $19. Might want to check out Newegg.com or some of the other major online retailers. But before you buy a card, you should definitely check the specs on your laptop to make sure a Firewire card will work in it.