Is there such thing as a Firewire to USB adapter?

the Pixela Firewire to USB bridge is no longer manufactured.

PIX-UVCD/U1W

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Specifications and system requirements

Specifications

Importing Format (Movie/Still Image)		Movie: DV (NTSC) Still Image: BMP
Importing Format (Audio)		DV-Audio
Dimensions (Body)		Approx. 78mm x 32mm x 16.4mm
Cable Length		Approx. 1.2m
Weight		Approx. 66g
Storage Temperature		0 to 40 degrees for operation -10 to 50 degrees for storage
Power		USB bus power (+5V)
Power Consumption		Approx.300mA
Connector Configuration		USB: TypeA IEEE1394: 4 pins
Bundled Software		ImageMixer Ver.2.0 (DV import/edit/DVD creation software)

System Requirements

Supported Computer		A Windows computer equipped with USB2.0 compliant USB port. *Pre-installed Microsoft Corporation Operating System with a USB 2.0 driver.
Supported OS		Windows XP ServicePack 1/1a or higher (pre-installed OS recommended). *DirectX 9.0b compatible PC required.
CPU		Intel Pentium III 1GHz or higher. Equivalent performance of Intel Pentium 4, Pentium 4 HT, Celeron, AMD Athlon, or Athlon XP.
Memory		128MB or more (256MB or more recommended).
Display		800x600 pixels or higher, 16bit (High color) or higher, 16MB VRAM or higher (64MB or more recommended). *Graphic Accelerator (compatible with overlay display) with DirectX 9.0b or higher.
Sound		Sound Blaster or equivalent
Hard Disk		UltraATA-66 or higher Required disk space for installation: approx. 300MB or more Required disk space for operation: approx. 15GB or more recommended *Depends on the size of videos to edit. *A hard disk which supports the DMA transfer function is recommended. The DMA transfer function must be enabled.

*If the digital video camera is in the camera mode, still images/videos cannot be imported. Switch to the play-mode to import still images and videos.
*In order to use this product in a muti-user environment, you need to login as an Administrator.
*When using an overclocked CPU or a DualCPU, functionality cannot be guaranteed.
*When compiling a DVD-Video or Video CD, a compatible DVD drive is required.
*Use discs recommended by the drive manufacturer.
*Compiled discs may not be played on some players.
*The usable disc space of a DVD-R is approx.4GB. A 700MB CD-R has a usable disc space of approx.660MB and a 650MB CD-R has a usable disc space of approx.600MB.

Supported Camera/Camcorders (as of December 28, 2004)

Canon		IXY DV M2 IXY DV M3 FV M100 FV M20 DM-FV50
Panasonic		NV-GS200K NV-GS120K NV-GS70K NV-GS55K NV-GX7
SHARP		VL-Z900 VL-Z300 VL-Z7 VL-Z5
SONY		DCR-HC30 DCR-TRV22K GV-D1000
Victor		GR-D33 GR-D72 GR-DX97 GR-DX77 GR-DX307 GR-D200 GR-700K GR-300K GR-DV5000 GR-DV900K

I guess a firewire male to USB male connection would also work, but the product you mention looks and sounds like this one at Amazon:  www.amazon.com/.../ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top  If you read the reviews of this product and other products that look like it, everyone says it does not work.  Some people are calling it a scam product because after buying it for a few bucks, it's not worth it to return.  One person said that it will transfer images from a camcorder, but not video.  

Maybe I will just have to take a chance and check it out.  I guess the most I have to lose is 91 cents (the price at the time of this posting).  If there is any other suggestion, please feel free to post...  

The amazon product is Junk and does not work. The Pixela Product is a USB to firewire BRIDGE not a passive cable.  There is NO DIRECT Connection betweeen USB and firewire.  You will lose more than 91 cents because the scammers charge 91 cents for the product and $55 for shipping and handling.

The Amazon link that I posted is free shipping so it really is 91 cents (plus 8 cents tax).  I wonder why so cheap?  

That Pixela product sounds like what I'm looking for.  But I wonder why it is no longer manufactured?  There seems to be a demand for this type of device, especially with newer computers coming out that don't have firewire ports (like the XPS 8300).  Do you know where I could get it or anything similar to it that is available?

EDIT:  The Amazon link I posted is not always 91 cents.  It's a 3rd party seller's page selling through Amazon and he/she probably changes the price periodically.

The 91 cent vendor plans to commit fraud.   Free Shipping but NOT FREE "Handling and Insurance".  In other words the

price is not really 91 cents.  Think about it.  It costs more than 91 cents to ship 1 pound  min to anywhere in the us.

The Pixela issue is either Lack of Demand OR a patent dispute.

You may be able to find one on Ebay otherwise its gone forever.

:emotion-55:

When I add the product to the Amazon cart, it says 0.00 for shipping and handling.  The cart total is .99 cents.  In my experience with Amazon they never charge more than what you see as the cart total.  It's possible that these sellers are shipping these by First Class mail envelopes which would only cost them .44 cents.  I was more on the lines of thinking that they know these don't work and they just want to get rid of them for real cheap, hoping that the customer won't think it's worth it to ask for a refund (and based on alot of the reviews, most of them don't) or they don't ship them at all and pocket the entire amount.

It's hard to believe that you can't find a single legitimate seller of these.  You would think that big name video companies like Pinnacle would have it.  They do have a device called Pinnacle Dazzle which imports video but not through firewire.  Also big name companies that sell cables like Belkin do not have anything like it either.  Surely there'd have to be some company selling such a device because of all the camcorders that have been sold in the past that use firewire.  It does kind of make me think twice & listen to the people who are skeptical that the technology of going from firewire to USB via a cable/adapter is even possible...  

It is possible.  I've used the Pixela Device and it does work.   It has to be some patent dispute.

Just Like polaroid sued Kodak over instant film.  Kodak's response was to stop making instant film.

Shortly thereafter polaroid went belly up.

Canopus PIXELA USB2.0 to DV Edit IEEE 1394 MPEG2 Video Capture - eBay

I ended up getting a USB 2.0/Firewire combo card:  www.amazon.com/.../ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details   I would have gotten a USB 3.0/Firewire card if it exists but I don't think it does at this time.  Anyway, all the ports seem to be working fine.

By the way, I was able to fit this card into the slot next to the video card.  I originally thought the 2 cards would be too close, I started a thread about that topic here with pics:  en.community.dell.com/.../20016394.aspx  but hopefully it'll be ok.  

For the record, I also did buy one of those Firewire to USB cables and I just tested it.  When I plugged the cable into a USB port, Windows did recognize that something was just plugged in but it was never able to recognize my particular device, nor could it find the drivers.