If you have a DV camera. You may be able to hook your vcr to the camera and use the 1394 cable to connect to the computer and capture with Vegas. If you do not have a camera that will work. You can go to wallmart and buy a video capture device for around $60.00 which will plug into your usb port. The software comes with it . You hook up your vcr to it and plug it into a usb 2 port on your computer. Most of the capture devices come with software to make mpeg-2 files. You can put the mpeg-2 files on your Sony Vegas Timeline and edit it. You can get the device from best buys or most any other computer store like radio shack. You can buy a all in wonder capture card for your computer and install it. But if your camera will not work the easy way is to use a USB device for 60 bucks.

I tried that last night. I took the red, white & yellow lines from the VCR and plugged that into the Sony TRV-18 camera and from there ran my firewire from the camera to the computer. I opened up Vegas and when I clicked capture video it asked for a tape to be in the camera which has been my usual way of getting video (from the DV camera) to Vegas. I couldn't figure any other way to get the video from the VCR to the computer. If this should work, what did I do wrong?

I don't know about the TRV18 but many cameras have a menu setting that you need to set for pass through conversion (analog-DV etc)

See page 174 in your owners manual. or check it out at
http://129.33.22.12/release/DCRTRV18.pdf

In my Sony TRV-18 manual there is a diagram showing the connection I made but tells me how to change the settings. Thanks, I hadn't thought of looking in my manual until you suggested that there might be a setting change needed. I'll try again tonight.

Also in VidCap's preferences you should disable DV device control.

There are a few Sony models that won't let you pass thru. You actually have to record it to the camera tape 1st, then transfer via FireWire. I Don't know about the TRV-18, I don't recall that model #. Some Sony cams, won't let you do anything.
I wouldn't bother with the other suggestion of using USB2 to transfer, unless you just want the cheapest way to transfer. Working with mpeg files is not going to be as easy to edit with as using AVI files.
I'm doing the same thing with old band videos and a lot of my old videos are extremely boring, one camera shoots. So, to make them somewhat interesting, I also do a lot of pan & crop, and try to make it look as if there was more than one camera, which may be near impossible to do using mpeg
I would only use the USB2 way, if I wanted to make direct copies without editing. Or minimal editing.

I followed the instructions in the Sony camcorder to hook up the camera with the red, white & yellow in from VCR. Then the firewire out to computer. I changed the setting on the camera to convert the signal. Then I disabled the DV Device control in the Video Capture "Preferences" and when I did this VC no longer asked me to "insert a tape" but when I begin the VCR tape I see nothing in the preview and when I hit "Capture Video" it's just grey matter. It seems I am on the right path but missing something. Any ideas? Should I have a DV tape in the camera? I don't since when I did it wanted to capture that but that was before I disabled DV Device Control. Help.

Normally, I think you do not want a tape in the camera to do a pass through..

Are you seeing the output of the VCR on the Sony Camcorder display screen?

No. There doesn't seem to be any difference whether there's a tape in because I tried it both ways but still I am not seeing the playback of the VCR on the preview screen.

Having a tape or not, doesn't matter. Be sure your Sony TRV 18 on/ off switch is in 'VCR' mode, not 'Camera' mode. That's the only thing I didn't see you mention

Also, if you have Pass-through, you should have something in your Camera menu called TBC and another called DNR (Time Base Corrector and Digital Noise Reduction, the TBC is good for transferring VCR tapes and sometimes so is the DNR)
These can only be accessed when the switch is in VCR mode too

I've definitely got the camera in the VCR mode and I am not seeing the playback on the camera or the computer but I do see it on the television. Do you think that I should disconnect that connection from the VCR to the TV to get the signal to flow to the camera and then the computer? That's the only thing I haven't thought of or tried yet. Reading the camera manual I have those settings correct. Looking at Vegas I definitely see a new "picture" when I click on "Capture Video" and I can prompt the computer to capture video but there is no image or audio. It does save a file but it's void.

I think you'll find a menu item in the camera that controls if those red, white and yellow wires are inputs or outputs. On mine it's "A/V>DV Out".
Bob.

I can't see that the VCR output to the TV would have any impact. You're using the coaxial output for that, right? Not the A/V outputs (red,white and yellow)?

Are you sure you are using the correct A/V connecting cable and/or that it is
seated firmly into the Camcorder in the correct Audio/Video input? I don't think your analog signal from the VCR is getting to the camera. If the signal is getting the the camera, I think you should see in on the Camera display. Your camera display should be set to LCD.

Can anyone else say for sure that the TVR18 does display the analog image from the VCR as it comes into the camera? Getting this far should have nothing to do withthe A/V D/V OUT setting.

This sure seems to be getting harder than it needs to be. As was mentioned in the first reply, the answer is on page 174 of the TRV-18 manual. Here is that page:

In looking at the manual here:
http://129.33.22.12/release/DCRTRV18.pdf

PG 89

It shows recording from a VCR ..

If the camera supports pass through to the DV port, ( which it doesn't say ) I would think the camera would need to be in ' RECORD ' mode to do so ..

P.S.
I see johnmeyer beat me to it ... I didn't make it to page 174 ...

I see what I called " RECORD " mode is called " VCR " mode ..

Bob may have something there that I didn't consider. I have the red, white & yellow plugged into the face of the VCR which is where I always plug it in to view video from the camera to the TV. Maybe that's wrong and I need to go around to the back and make sure red, white & yellow are definitely coming from an "out". That would make sense. Can't wait to check it out tonight. I thank everyone for their help and I'll let you know.

Yes, definitely take the RCA outputs from the VCR directly to your camera inputs (S-video would be better than the yellow RCA, if you have it), & FireWire cable from your camera to your PC. When you see the picture and start recording, (hitting the red capture button) watch it on the PC. If your PC is not fast and up to date, you may not hear the sound clearly as it records to your harddrive, but will be fine once the recording is done.
If, for any reason, you drop any frames while recording, turn on the TBC. (I normally leave this on when capturing any VHS tapes)
Also, I don't think Pass through will work if you try to play a tape with copy protection on it. (Just in case that's the source you're using while trying to set this up)

I have the red, white & yellow plugged into the face of the VCR which is where I always plug it in to view video from the camera to the TV. Maybe that's wrong and I need to go around to the back and make sure red, white & yellow are definitely coming from an "out". That would make sense.

Yes, you MUST connect to the OUTPUT jacks on the VCR. The front panel jacks are always input. They are not bi-directional. I can see the confusion, because the camcorder (your TRV-18) has that one yellow mini-jack, and depending on that menu setting that is described in my 5/22/2008 8:08:33 AM post, it can function as either an input or an output. However, this is not typical. Most devices -- and certainly all VCRs I have ever seen -- have jacks which are dedicated either to input or output.

So, connect to the BACK of the VCR, and make sure that both the video (the yellow connector) AND both audio connectors are labeled OUTPUT.

Is that multiple A/V plug a mini? If so, make sure you're not plugging it into the earphone jack!

And if it's a sub-mini, make sure you're not plugging it into the LANC jack.