Rookie needs help caturing

[Peter Robinson]

Very new to computers and camcorders. Using XP.home on Pentium 4 512mbwith 60 GB harddrive.
Just downloaded VS8 but loading is very slow and after clicking "capture" step 1 everything is greyed out and can't get it to happen. Have fitted firewire card and have Sony handycam with DV-in. Previously tried Moviemaker 2 and also Nero which came with DVD rewriter but they were pathetically slow as well. Is the camera somehow affecting these software programmes ? Have checked to see that the camera and firewire is recognised - seems OK. Do I have to switch off USB streaming on camera ? Where do I go from here? a simple English guardian angel would be very welcome. Thanks
Eileen

[thecoalman]

Turn the cam off. Open up VS8. Turn the cam on to VCR mode. Don't use USB for anything except transferring digital pictures.

Just to be sure your positive your using firewire and not USB correct?

Yuo can check to see if it's recognized by looking in my computer. If it's there that doesn't neccesarily mean that it's communicating. Have you installed the SP2 for windows. The SP2 update has broken in some cases the ability of cams to communicate with the computer. Also note that (iforget which brand) some cams will only work on a fireqwire card with a TI chipset.

Which brand cam is it?

[rwindeyer]

I think you need to make sure that you are using the correct capture plugin. Under the TOOLS menu, see what plugin is currently active. For my Sony digital camcorder, via firewire, I use the DirectShow plugin.
Also when capturing from the camera, make sure that it is switched to VCR mode.
Hope that helps.

[Peter Robinson]

Thanks for replying. Definitely using firewire and turned off USB streaming on camera. Under tools the capture plug in says "Ulead direct capture plug in" Camera says VCR set.
Have installed SP2 and my camera is Sony handycam DCR HC20E.
Tried turning camera on after bringing up the programme but no improvement - programme still takes ages to load and unresponsive. How would I check if the firewire cable is not faulty?
Spent hours on this thing and about to chuck it all in !!!
I uninstalled Roxio and Nero which I had on computer as the same slow response was evident with them. I am wondering if the camera set up is somehow affecting the software of this sort of programme. What do you think ?
Your help is appreciated. Bet its cold in Pennsylvania ( I live in Penn Avenue named after William Penn who came from village just near where I live in UK. ) and hot in OZ

[thecoalman]

Unplug the cam and go to start>control panel>system>device manager Check to see if there's any ? marks next to any of the devices listed.

Also make sure that if there's an option for DV output in the cams menu make sure it's selected. Does it show up in My Computer when you turn it on? <<<---this is important to know

You did say that it was recognized by Movie Destroyer? That's usually a good way of determining if there's an issue with the sofware or the system try and capture some footage using that.... let me know what happens.

BTW right now it's only about 40 degrees F, above freezing. It was zero for two weeks straight a few weks ago...

[rwindeyer]

What the coalman said - check that the drivers for the IEE1394 card are functioning correctly.

And yes it is hot here - last week it was 39. (C).

[GeorgeW]

As mentioned earlier in the thread, SP2 for WinXP has caused firewire problems -- some folks fix everything by re-installing the firewire drivers from SP1 (not sure where they get it -- I don't have WinXP here).

Make sure you are capturing the right format (PAL DV .avi I assume???).

Try switching the DV capture type (TYPE-1 if you are doing TYPE-2, or TYPE-2 if you are doing TYPE-1).

There's also a little utility called WinDV (you can get it from videohelp.com). It captures from dv sources (has a little buffer to handle system "glitches")

[thecoalman]

-- some folks fix everything by re-installing the firewire drivers from SP1 (not sure where they get it -- I don't have WinXP here).

You can get them off the XP CD as long as it's not the SP2 version. There's also backup copies in the system if you upgraded to SP2 from SP1, and I have copies available on my site, you need the addy though. There's specific directions for installing them and it hasn't always worked.

[rwindeyer]

There's also backup copies in the system if you upgraded to SP2 from SP1

Look in Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager - select the IEEE 1394 device (doubleclick to expand) - select Driver, and Rollback Driver.

Best of luck.

[maddrummer3301]

>Previously tried Moviemaker 2 and also Nero which came with DVD
>rewriter but they were pathetically slow as well.
Something is wrong with your interfacing.
The camcorder has additional features including USB streaming of video.

Have you followed all the directions with your camcorder?
The Sony/Support site has all the documentation in pdf format.

It appears you must have the power supply connected to the camcorder
and turned ON to power the USB STREAMING & FIREWIRE OUTPUTS.
(Same for my old JVC DV Unit).

In the menu setup screen you must also activate the firewire interface
SET (A/V -> DV-OUT).
I Don't know if you have to de-activate the usb streaming function first.
To use USB streaming load the drivers for XP on the CD or download
them from the http://www.sony.com/support/ website

Hope this helps,

MD

[maddrummer3301]

Just noticed you have disabled USB streaming so I guess you have
activated the DV out and external power supply is on to power
the DV interface.

When the camcorder is connected under the "Control Panel" their is an
icon that says Cameras/scanners . when you open up that screen the
camcorder should show up if XP is seeing it.

If it isn't showing up then maybe trying the firewire card in another pci slot.
There may be an IRQ conflict.

Hope this helps,

MD

[Peter Robinson]

Hi guys.
Read your latest postings - thanks.
No question marks against IEEE 1394 in device manager and checked the Add hardware on control panel which says the device is working properly. Also checked on Microsoft web to confirm compatability which is OK. What is the rollback driver you mention - can't see it on Device Manager. Also checked camera test which said successful.
When powering up the camera and connecting firewire cable the small screen shows DV in.
I transferred a video tape onto Moviemaker 2 a while ago but the result was jerky which made me instal the IEEE1394. So the USB worked then but not now. It comes up with "there is no tape in your device" which is crazy because there is.What is DV capture type 1 or 2 ? Have looked for this but can't find it.
On Menu set up screen you say to activate the firewire interface and SET (A/V->DV-OUT) Do you mean on the camera screen ? because I can't see any reference to this.
All the time I get the very slow response and half the time it grinds to a halt and says "This programme is not responding.Tell Microsoft about the problem"
I'm on the limits of my technical ability now which isn't much anyway so I really don't know what to do from here.

[thecoalman]

Try this update first..... http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... ash=XKC4S9

What is the rollback driver you mention - can't see it on Device Manager.

Device manager right click the 1394 device slect properties, driver tab.

On Menu set up screen you say to activate the firewire interface and SET (A/V->DV-OUT) Do you mean on the camera screen ? because I can't see any reference to this.

That doesn't have to be done with all cams.

I know I mentioned it before but your positive your using the firewire? The connection on the cam is similar. Here's is how they should look. http://mediaworks.it.northwestern.edu/dv-pc.cfm notice the cam connection has a indentation.

Try moving the card to a different PCI slot as mentioned above.


I have one more link for manually installing the the SP1 drivers but the site seems to be dead right now...

[Peter Robinson]

Absolutely no doubt that I'm using firewire port on camera.
Will try switching to remaining card slot in PC. Control panel says device working properly but worth a try.

[thecoalman]

Absolutely no doubt that I'm using firewire port on camera.

You never know if they know, but a picture can tell a thousand words..... I've seen threads go on for ages and it would end up being something as simple as that.