Hi,
I have a Sony DCR-VX2100 which uses firewire for transfer. Currently, I am downloading from my camera to my Alienware 7700 laptop with Microsoft XP Professional by using firewire. I am using an external 500GB drive for storage. I have the option of using Firewire or USB 2.0 for transfer from my laptop to my external hard drive.
My question is;
In your opinion, should I use Firewire or USB 2.0 for transfer for best quality overall for my video.
Your help would be most appreciated. Thanks, Ray

here's a link to a previously posted question on this topic. hope it helps.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=58169&highlight=external+usb+firewire

The video quality won't change. I use hard drive in USB 2 external cases exclusively. 4 different brands, all great, no problems. The thing I like most about USB 2 drives is that they are much easier to connect to my laptop. 4-pin firewire is much too fiddly and I'm sure I'll wreck the socket one day, so I leave it just for my camera.

I have a variety of external hard drives, all of which have USB 2.0 and Firewire interfaces.

I have come to prefer using the USB 2.0 option. (One of my drives doesn't always get recognised via Firewire but always does via USB).

It also means I have more Firewire ports free to connect my DV devices (I've successfully captured from 3 devices simultaneously).

I have been using USB 2.0 External drives daily for 5 years without any issues at all.