Bob

I might be showing my ignorance here but I don't think you can capture DV in any format other than the standard NTSC or PAL formats. If I'm wrong about that then sorry for misleading you. I also don't think your issue has to do with USB or Firewire transfer.

When you say the WMV file is unusable what do you mean exactly. I know that editing in DV AVI is the ideal way of doing things but the new Premiere Elements 2 allows you to import and edit WMV files and then convert / burn your project to DVD. It might be your best option rather than going the analogue way.