So try to put the video on the memory stick then on the COMPUTER?Yes, just to see if it's a problem with the heads of the camcorder or the cassettes.OK so I recorded ONTO the memory stick instead of cassette and it is NOT blurry when uploading.
The thing is with the cassettes.....I recorded the first video fine....then tried the next one (months later and in a new house) and it's blurry...so I went back to the first one to see if that was the problem and that one was blurry too....which made me assume it was some sort of setting or screw up on my part hooking the computer back up...
So maybe it's the heads?Well that's some good news...

If you're recording to cassette & the playback on your Camcorder from the cassette is fine, then I would say that it isn't a problem with the cassettes or the camcorder heads - it has to be something to do with the way the data is transfered from the cassette to the PC.

I need to know exactly the method you USED to transfer from the cassette. I wouldn't have thought that the cassette is recognised by the PC through a USB directly. When you connect the camcorder to the PC via a USB, I would think the PC is looking for the memory stick - unless Sony has a way of transfering the cassette through the USB via ram or something (I'm no expert).

I would have presumed that you would need to dub (transfer) the cassette to the memory stick on the camcorder first, then transfer, unless you play the cassette on the camcorder & record to the PC live.

If you do have to dub the cassette to memory stick prior to transferring to the PC, then you might aswell just record directly to the memory stick (note that the sound will be mono though).When you connect the camcorder (without a memory stick) to the PC, does the PC recognise it? (do you get an icon/pop up bubble in the TASKBAR at the bottom right appear).

Also, were you having to run some kind of Sony software to transfer from the Camcorder?No, I never had to run any Sony software. When I connect the camcorder by USB, it says new hardware found. Then my video editing software just recognizes it when I go to capture it.
I am using only a USB to put the video on the computer....that is exactly what I did the first time. I just play the video on the camera and and hit capture on the video editing software.....exactly what I did the first time as well. I do not have a big enough memory stick to hold a lot of video and I cannot figure out how to transfer already taped video onto the memory stick. I see, so you're recording it live (capturing) & not really transfering a file as such.

I would seriously recommend getting a larger memory stick to save you time (you can pick them up cheap on ebay) as you would only have to copy/cut the movie file as apposed to playing the camcorder back/capturing it in real time (but you I'm sure you already knew that).

Anyway, if you would like to transfer video from the cassette to the memory stick, it's page 91 of the manual (dubbing selected scenes from a tape) you can get the manual from here.

Still, we need to sort this capturing from the cassette business out.

If when you ATTACH a device & you get a 'found new hardware' message, it could mean that you don't have any drivers installed for it.

Did you install any drivers from a CD that came with the camcorder or anything? Amazingly, there is nothing in the manual about connecting to a PC (what I can find atleast).

I found the drivers here

Install the drivers and then connect the camcorder, then try to capture again.

Good luckwill try that...thanks...
I thick the "connecting tho the PC: manual was a separate one....I remember there being 2 manuals when I first started this process. I'll try installing the drivers and update back :-)