USB recognition is not supported -- nice when it happens though.

Vegas capture supports FireWire Legacy 1394 drivers by design.

Not quite true. Vegas can read from a camera like it would from an AVCHD SD card using its own build in device explorer. However, the camera must be connect like a mass storage device and not with its own proprietary protocol. It does work with some AVCHD cameras but not all.

Yep, I thought it was a DV tape camera; carry on.

So, what's my work around if since Vegas doesn't recognize my AVCHD camera ? My computer does not have firewire. If I add a firewire PCI card will I be able to download from the camera. Other solutions?

The user manual for your camera (as per Panasonic's support page for the camera) says at page 104 that you can transfer video from the camera's HD to an SD card slotted in to the camera. It would therefore seem that you could transfer from the camera's HD to an SD card within the camera and then transfer the video to your computer's HD via your computer's multi-card reader.

Alternatively, page 118 of the manual says that video can be transferred directly to a computer via the HD Writer AE 3.0 program that was supplied with the camera on a CD-ROM.

Home built computer that does not have a multi-card reader so that solution is out. I suppose I could dump the files into my other computer via that method (it has a reader) and then burn the files onto a DVD then transfer those files into the computer I really want to use. Pretty involved process, though. The home build has much faster processing speed and more memory than the old HP that I was using. Not sure I can locate the CD-ROM you mention either secondary to a recent move with equipment scattered hither and yon. I'll try to locate it and see if that method works. Thanks.

Home built computer that does not have a multi-card reader so that solution is out. I suppose I could dump the files into my other computer via that method (it has a reader) and then burn the files onto a DVD then transfer those files into the computer I really want to use. Pretty involved process, though. The home build has much faster processing speed and more memory than the old HP that I was using. Not sure I can locate the CD-ROM you mention either secondary to a recent move with equipment scattered hither and yon. I'll try to locate it and see if that method works. Thanks.

Let's start over. How are you trying to transfer the files from within Vegas? Are you using the device explorer or the capture utility?

Device explorer. I connect the camera the same way as I did with Vegas version 11 but the new program does not "see" the camera. I get a no device connected message in the explorer window. As I said, the earlier version on my old HP computer connects up with no problem. Should work the same shouldn't it?

Device explorer. I connect the camera the same way as I did with Vegas version 11 but the new program does not "see" the camera. I get a no device connected message in the explorer window. As I said, the earlier version on my old HP computer connects up with no problem. Should work the same shouldn't it?

Yes it should. In the device explorer you should see the clips and it will stitch split clips, those in excess of 4GB, into one clip. Can you see the camcorder as drive in the windows file explorer? Like it states on page 128 of the camera manual?

Does your computer see the device?

Does your computer see the device?

That’s what I was asking. I also wonder if he has to install the Panasonic software that came with the camera in order for the PC to recognize it properly.