So, you got yourself a Camcorder, and have shot some nice footage. Now, how to get that footage off your camcorder, and on your Computer? This guide will tell you How To Connect a Camcorder to a Computer using the right connections for optimal quality. Connecting your camcorder to a computer isn’t difficult, as long as you know what to look for.
This guide will explain the differences in possible connections, what they look like, and how to use them to connect with your computer.

There are a number of possible connection types, which may be supported by your Camcorder. They will be described from fastest to slowest, so if more than one type of connection is available, you should aim for the first one mentioned.

• Firewire. Firewire, also known as IEEE 1394, i.LINK and Lynx, was created in 1995] by Apple as a replacement for the slower parallel SCSI bus, and was specifically designed for digital audio and video equipment connectivity. Sony created an implementation of their own, called i.LINK.
  
  I-LINK uses a smaller connector, which contains only four out of six circuits. i.LINK and Firewire are interchangeable, and crossover cables are widely available.Firewire supports different speed standards, called S100, S200, S400 and S800. Even higher speeds (S1600 and S3200) have been specified, but is not yet widely used.
  
  

• USB, or Universal Serial Bus was created in 1996 by a consortium of companies, including Intel, Microsoft, Sony, IBM and Northern Telecom. Its main purpose was to easily connect external devices to Personal Computers by standardizing connectors.
  
  There are currently three speed standards for USB: USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0. USB 3.0 has been specified, but devices supporting this version are still scarce. Connecting your camcorder to a Computer requires at least USB 2.0, a lower version does not provide fast enough transfer rates. If you connect to a slow USB port, your computer will normally complain about this, warning you a high-speed external device has been connected with a slow USB port.
  

*Analog ports. There are several types of analog ports, and all are inferior to both FireWire and USB. Especially older camcorders, who don’t provide these faster connections, can only be connected through S-Video, composite or RCA.

Once you’ve located the connectors on your Camcorder, repeat the same action to see what connectors your Computer features. Find the highest speed combination.

If both camcorder and computer support FireWire, this is preferred. Otherwise, check if both support USB. As a last resort, find a combination of analog connectors. These analog connectors can be converted, so a composite output from your Camcorder can be connected to an S-Video connector on your Computer.

If all connection possibilities from step 1 and step 2 fail, you may need to resort to removing the memory card or dvd disc from your camcorder, if available. Most camcorders either use Digital Tape, or write to memory card, or directly to DVD.

If removable, these external memory units can sometimes be connected directly to your computer, bypassing the camcorder altogether.

Once connected, your computer will recognize the new hardware, and start installing it. Once done, you can start up your video editing program of choice (like CyberLink PowerDirector, Corel VideoStudio, Magix Movie Edit Pro , Roxio Creator, Pinnacle Studio, or the free Microsoft Movie Maker)

If done correctly, your video editing software will immediately recognize your camcorder, and will be able to record footage from it. If you are using Firewire or USB, your editing software might even be able to control your camcorder, directly from your computer.