I use a Sony DSR 25 deck with a chepo ADS OHCI firewire card,
and Vegas automatically starts when ever I turn the Sony deck on.
( To capture I just open the Vegas capture utility )
I use a DSR-1800 all the time. Works fine. make sure the deck input is set on ilink and the remote litght is on and the ilink remote button is on (not the 9 pin).