firewire alternative for macbook

may · #1 (**permalink**) 25th December 2008, 08:41 PM

My wife just purchased new macbook & to her disappointment she cannot connect our camcorder as no firewire port.Does anyone know if you can get a firewire end that connects to your camcorder & is usb where it connects to her macbook.
thanks

samuelowens · #2 (**permalink**) 25th December 2008, 08:45 PM

http://forums.mactalk.com.au/33/5985...b-2-cable.html

SyncMan · #3 (**permalink**) 25th December 2008, 09:00 PM

Beyond camcorder issues, were there going to be any Display Port solutions or not?

NORMANDY · #4 (**permalink**) 25th December 2008, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by may

My wife just purchased new macbook & to her disappointment she cannot connect our camcorder as no firewire port.Does anyone know if you can get a firewire end that connects to your camcorder & is usb where it connects to her macbook.
thanks

as far as I know , you cant do anything, not even the usb to firewire cables work, it was a totally BRAIN DEAD idea to remove firewire from the Macbooks.. I suggest if Firewire is important you, return the macbook for a Macbook Pro, which does have firewire.

tintinaujapon · #5 (**permalink**) 25th December 2008, 11:17 PM

I agree with Normandy entirely. Firewire has been my saviour 4 times in the last couple of months. It was an easy, fast, convenient solution to problems that came up. Without it I would have been completely stuck.

gareth · #6 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 02:34 AM

The white macbooks have firewire. This is your cheapest option

Brains · #7 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 02:43 AM

Sorry ,may -- there is absolutely no way to add FireWire to one of the new all-aluminium "unitray" MacBooks.

None whatsoever.

If the missus needs FireWire, then I suggest she return the MacBook to place of purchase and exchange it for either a MacBook Pro (costs a lot more and is bigger as well) or downgrade to the entry level plastic-shell white MacBook.

SyncMan · #8 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 06:22 AM

Firewire, MacBook users big bag of hurt.

stewy38 · #9 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 10:59 AM

Whats so good about firewire. My computer needs are simple everything done via usb have no need fo firewire

NORMANDY · #10 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewy38

Whats so good about firewire. My computer needs are simple everything done via usb have no need fo firewire

this is a really old discussion.... but any one who does any decent podcasting, mixing kits all use firewire, the better drives use firewire, the professional video cameras use firewire, the list goes on and on... and as the OP said they have a video camera and they need it.. so the statements supporting firewire stands for the OP's needs ....

hazyinseptember · #11 (**permalink**) 26th December 2008, 12:11 PM

i just don't understand why apple dropped it..

my bandmate just bought a new mac and was horrified to discover there was no fire wire port..

there are decent sound cards out there that are usb2, and she still has her imac for her camcorder transfer.. so in the end its not a horrible thing..

i do believe this is a ploy on apples part to push people up to the higher end computer..

iPirate · #12 (**permalink**) 1st January 2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewy38

Whats so good about firewire. My computer needs are simple everything done via usb have no need fo firewire

My computer needs are simple also. For example, recording things off TV and burning to DVD. But I don't have that sort of space on my internal drive for all those DVD images. So what am I going to do? Use an external drive.

This comparison is why I will never wilfully use a USB drive for storage above say 40GB. It's just too painfully slow.

seven88 · #13 (**permalink**) 3rd January 2009, 10:47 AM

let's just say how disappointed i am at this by apple. Firstly when i purchased the computer i asked "does it have firewire" he replied "yes it does" , so i purchased the more expensive macbook as i knew i would need the extra power and ram for the work i would be doing. After opening it and realising there was no firewire, i got very angry and rung up the store and told the salesperson he needs to know what he was selling - his reply was, we can't know everything. Well yes you do, i was a retail assistant in my two previous jobs and you need to know the ins and outs of an item in order to sell it.

What i have come across is the KAISER BASS USB VHS to DVD adapter, it seems to be the only way so far to capture video, its extremely tedious but what can i do.

Overall, it has not been a pleasant experience especially as this was a birthday present and was not prepared to spend another 1K on the pro just for firewire.

I just took it for granted that these would have firewire in them, it seems funny, my brother's macbook doesn't even have a dvd burner or adequate ram for fast video editing, yet it still has a firewire. Why put a dvd burner and imovie on this machine if we can't edit from our dv cams

shame on you apple!

Phase · #14 (**permalink**) 3rd January 2009, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seven88

Why put a dvd burner and imovie on this machine if we can't edit from our dv cams

shame on you apple!

Because Apple believes, (and it is true) that most Non Professional Camcorders use USB for transferring data. Further, almost no new models are DV devices, at all. If you're one of the unlucky ones to fall outside of that, Apple suggests you upgrade, or put up.

Supreme · #15 (**permalink**) 3rd January 2009, 11:35 AM

Get over it. If you use and love Firewire, don't buy the machine. Apple aren't forcing you to buy it.

OziMac · #16 (**permalink**) 3rd January 2009, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seven88

let's just say how disappointed i am at this by apple. Firstly when i purchased the computer i asked "does it have firewire" he replied "yes it does" , so i purchased the more expensive macbook as i knew i would need the extra power and ram for the work i would be doing. After opening it and realising there was no firewire, i got very angry and rung up the store and told the salesperson he needs to know what he was selling - his reply was, we can't know everything. Well yes you do, i was a retail assistant in my two previous jobs and you need to know the ins and outs of an item in order to sell it.

What i have come across is the KAISER BASS USB VHS to DVD adapter, it seems to be the only way so far to capture video, its extremely tedious but what can i do.

Overall, it has not been a pleasant experience especially as this was a birthday present and was not prepared to spend another 1K on the pro just for firewire.

I just took it for granted that these would have firewire in them, it seems funny, my brother's macbook doesn't even have a dvd burner or adequate ram for fast video editing, yet it still has a firewire. Why put a dvd burner and imovie on this machine if we can't edit from our dv cams

shame on you apple!

Where did you buy it?

If the salesperson held out to you that it had firewire, you should absolutely escalate it - it's called misleading and deceptive conduct, and the very least they should do is offer to exchange it for a model that meets your needs, subject to you paying / them refunding the difference.

Don't sacrifice DV quality by using one of those adapters - you spent all this money on a computer that you were duped into buying, you should make sure you get it right.

Vapours · #17 (**permalink**) 3rd January 2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supreme

Get over it. If you use and love Firewire, don't buy the machine. Apple aren't forcing you to buy it.

Apparently you missed the part where he specifically asked the salesman if it had FW, and was told that it did.

NeoRicen · #18 (**permalink**) 4th January 2009, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seven88

let's just say how disappointed i am at this by apple. Firstly when i purchased the computer i asked "does it have firewire" he replied "yes it does" , so i purchased the more expensive macbook as i knew i would need the extra power and ram for the work i would be doing. After opening it and realising there was no firewire, i got very angry and rung up the store and told the salesperson he needs to know what he was selling - his reply was, we can't know everything. Well yes you do, i was a retail assistant in my two previous jobs and you need to know the ins and outs of an item in order to sell it.

What i have come across is the KAISER BASS USB VHS to DVD adapter, it seems to be the only way so far to capture video, its extremely tedious but what can i do.

Overall, it has not been a pleasant experience especially as this was a birthday present and was not prepared to spend another 1K on the pro just for firewire.

I just took it for granted that these would have firewire in them, it seems funny, my brother's macbook doesn't even have a dvd burner or adequate ram for fast video editing, yet it still has a firewire. Why put a dvd burner and imovie on this machine if we can't edit from our dv cams

shame on you apple!

Shame on you for not doing your resarch before spending $2099. If you're about to spend that much money you shouldn't rely on a salesperson.

In other news Apple is apparently (according to 9to5mac) going to phase out the white model, meaning no portable Mac under $3199 will have FireWire.