The Canon MV890 camcorder specs claim it has a "DV" socket for output.
Being a total newbie to this, I've no idea what what that is. Is "DV"
another term for "Firewire"? If so, can I expect to connect this socket
to the firewire input of my PC and have the digital video transfer to
the PC?

Assuming I'm on the right lines, what sort of connector is a "DV"
socket? I have 2 PCs, each with a socket labeled "Firewire", but they're
physically different. One is about the size of a USB connector but has a
rounded right end - it looks like a squashed 'D'. The other is a very
small rectangle with what looks like 4 pins in it. It could be more pins
- the connector is only about 5mm across so it's hard to tell. There's a
notch at the bottom.

The point of all this is to get the right cable. Either PC will do, but
I'd rather attach it to the one with the smaller connector. Any advice
appreciated!

Yep.All you need, is the right software, something like x-studio, to capture
the video, edit and author the dvd etc.Besides that, you need the drivers
for your firewire card, so that the capture software can *really* capture.
The one is a 6 pin firewire, while the other is 4 pin.The only difference
is, that the 6 one, has also a power supply advantage (which in your case is
useless).
That's pretty standard.For the former you'll need a 6 to 4 pin cable (every
computer/IT store will know immediately what this is)and for the latter a 4
to 4 pin firewire cable.
Hope this helps,

<snip all the answers>
It did help, thanks!

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