I simply used the CF card recorder/reader that came with the camera, attached the firewire cradle (included accessory with camera) added the camera battery for power, inserted a CF card, plugged in a 6 pin firewire cable, and turned it on. With the firewire cable attached to my PC, the CF unit was recognized as another hard drive. I simply dragged and dropped the m2t files. It couldn't have been easier. I guess I could have used a CF reader on my computer, but the Firewire transfers much, much faster than USB.