Via Chip 3 + 1 Ports Firewire IEEE1394 iLink PCI Controller Card W/Free 6 to 4pin firewire cable

This card really saved my bacon. I have a Sony Camcorder from back in 2002 and over a dozen DV tapes that I suddenly realized I needed to digitize before my camera breaks. Because we all use iPhones to record (superior) video trying to replace this old tech would be prohibitively expensive. I also panicked when the 13 year old cable I used to use failed on me as well as a 3 year old Corel movie editor program. I discovered these cameras use FireWire (Sony calls it DV I think?) so I thought I could use that as a better transfer method.The card was plug and play for my Windows 7 home PC. There was a disk included but it wasn't necessary. After I got the card working I found a hidden encoder program included with Windows 7 that captures the video from the camcorder. The program, the card, and the camcorder worked surprisingly well together, and after fiddling a bit with the program, I've been able to capture my videos to hard disk.I compared prices between this seller and my local Micro Center, and this card cost a third of the price, with more plugs in the back. I doubt I'll use this card again, but it easily paid for itself vs. hiring out someone to digitize my DV cassettes.The only nit I have for this seller is the card came in a soft envelope that my postal worker subsequently folded to fit into the mailbox. Fortunately the card is narrow enough but I can also see how the card would have been damaged.

Took some time setting up, but it was OK.

I recently converted an old desktop PC into a "headless" dedicated Plex media server instead of using my main computer to stream content to my Roku 4. I have an older Drobo that requires firewire connection and backs up all of my media content that I wanted to plug in to this new server but the old computer had no firewire port, so I bought this card. Installation literally could not have been easier and while it comes with a mini disc with software/drivers, I didn't even open the package. This firewire card is COMPLETELY PLUG AND PLAY! I was transfer files via firewire within 10 minutes of opening the package when it arrived in the mail! Other reviewers said negative things about the included cable so I used one I already had. For the price it doesn't get much better/easier!I highly recommend this for use with Drobo or other older RAID storage setups or with video cameras (which I also have and will use it for). I did NOT receive this for free or at a discount. Hope this helps!

It is rather difficult to find the good old IDE cards and firewire is a dinosaur at that. I was pretty excited to see this card being offered at the sweet price. The package arrived with the card in a good condition but the driver CD was placed under the card inside the package and that had resulted into 2 pieces. There was no option but to return the product so that is what I did.I placed an order for another card and to my dismay it arrived with a broken CD as well...whats with that!!Review#2 --> So the second time the package arrived with yet another broken CD. I am using the card in an old PC which runs Windows XP. The device manager recognized the card as a IEEE1394 network card. I was hoping it would recognize my Sony digital 8 camcorder but the camcorder was not recognized by the movie maker. Since the card is OEM I couldn't lookup any website for driver download either. As a last resort I downloaded and installed the USB driver for the Sony Camcorder. This particular model does not transfer videos via USB and only does it via firewire hence the need for the card.I tried connecting the camcorder once again and viola the movie maker actually recognized the camcorder and I was able to transfer videos from the camcorder using this card. I have given 1 star even though the card worked because of the broken CDs.

I am using this product along with WinDV to digitalize Mini DV recorded videos from my Sony camcorder. I am using the external 4-pin port which seems to work best with my camcorder. The provided CD was supposed to have drivers to install, but I did not find anything of use on it. Rather it only seemed to make matters more complicated. If I were to start over, I would have never put the CD in, and just used the port "plug-and-play" as others have stated having success. It is working fine with Windows 10 on my machine. If you are like me and way behind on converting your old videos to a digital file, this is a solid tool to help get you there.

Should have read more reviews first. The included Firewire cable is utter junk, as one reviewer wrote, "if you look at it funny" it disconnects! I am running Windows 7 and had to go into Device Manager and use the uninstall function a few times and reboot before this card started working reliably. After replacing the junk included Firewire cable with another cable from Amazon everything seems to be working properly. I am giving two stars due to not being able to install the card and immediately use the product I purchased. I was up against a time window I did not make due to having to order another cable and wait for it to arrive. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased another card and cable from a different vendor.

plug in play, no complaints or issues

I purchased an eight dollar fire wire card before this and that card bit the dust after a year. Like others have stated, NO CD required for my system. I'm running a Windows 7 64-bit PC. (Surprisingly, my mini CD was not broken).Don't let the shortness of the card cause you concern, once you get it. The card is a little shorter than a standard PCI slot. All the notches will match up and you'll be good to go.I'm using this card for an older M-Audio - M-Powered Profire 2626 audio interface. Everything sounds great and no drop outs like I had with the other older card.