I was using a Sony GVD-1000 MiniDV deck at work yesterday, trying for the first time to copy a VHS tape from a standard VCR. I plugged the outs from the VCR into the handy little Y cable they give you with the Sony, which goes into a single analog audio/video Input jack. I had been told you could pretty much use the little deck as an analog/digital converter, much better behaved than the Dazzle and Pinnacle card I also have. So.... I plugged in the firewire cable to the back, and turned on "record-pause" and started the VHS tape rolling.

The result was - Nothing. After hunting the manual for menu commands that might switch the input, and looking at each and every jack (there are a lot of them!) on the Sony, to see if I had it right - I suddenly realized: The reason "DV-In" was sitting there on the screen was that the firewire cable was plugged in. That overrides the other input.

It seems you can use the Sony as a flow-thru going OUT from the computer, but not IN to the computer. You need to record first to a miniDV cassette, then capture from that to FinalCut or whatever.