Are mini video cassettes compatible with other cameras?

[Padmei]

I have an 'old' Sony DCR-HCR21E digital video camera that takes small tapes.
Windows 7 doesn't like the driver & I have to use a I link cable but my newish Pc doesn't have a ilink port blah blah blah.

Anyway a couple of solutions I thought of (other than paying someone to convert the tapes - about 10 of them) was to borrow a similar newer camera & put the tapes in then save to my ext HD. or send my tapes to someone with a newer Sony camera with a USB memorystick thing & get them to save onto the stick
So do you brainyboxes think this will work?

Anyone out there want to help a downed brother out?

[NordieBoy]

Your newish PC is a laptop isn't it?

[Transalper]

Best way to get that video off those tapes without loosing quality of picture is the I-link Firewire so if you have a desktop you will want to get an expansion card to do it.
If you have a Laptop I hope you got one with one of the expansion ports to plug a firewire card in to.

I looked last year for another way to do it with USB and the only cameras I found that would stream through USB were real expensive and the picture wasn't the same picture as you would get through the Firewire system.

If you only have half a dozen tapes to do I can run them through on to your external drive... problem being I'm here and you're there.

[NordieBoy]

I've got a handful of firewire pci cards but nothing laptopish.