Hi...Thanks for the replies............... Since my last post, I returned the GR-D250AA to the shop and upgraded to the GR-D290AA. The 290 has a USB connection & Memory card. Friends of mine have a Panasonic and the Software scans the tape and downloads the pics automatically at a fast rate.. This is an older Panasonic,,, about 3 years, To play the tape and capture via video editing software is too slow a process. Anyway the only problem I now have with the 290 is that Windows XP does not recognize it when in tape mode...(It does with the memory card) So.. If i want to put hundreds of pics on a tape at high res, I would like the software to recognize it and download from the tape via scanning software similar to the panasonic. (DV Studio) Also...since windows does not recognize it when in tape mode, How do I use i as a Webcam??? Apparently when in Memory card mode ...WinXP treats it like a hard drive and I can jsut transfer the pics over except the card only holds 21 pics at high res. That's why I prefer to snap all on a tape ..that way I can store hundreds ... I hope I have not bored whoever is reading this... Any help would be appreciated with thanks in advance. Joe M.

Since my last post... ? Is this your last post? i_XpUser

Hey guys well the problem with the gr-d290 is that xp service pack 1 doesnt recognize it apparently service pack 2 has some extra support for the camera and the usb 2.0 interface.. it'll work if u upgrade to sp2 but personally i'd rather not upgrade coz i have to face lots of software compatibility issues on sp2 :s good luck with u'r 290 :) Kashif P4 2.6HT 800MHz FSB Gigabyte GA-8IK1100 Mobo based on the Intel 875P chipset, with 512MB dual channel TwinMos DDR400 RAM, ABIT Siluro FX5600 OTESNvidia GeForce FX 5600 with 256MB DDR VRAM