Camcorder not recognized

[RobLewis]

I just got VS 8 DVD SE bundled with a Plextor converter. It refuses to operate with my Sony DV camcorder when I plug it into the FireWire port. It gives me a message that there is no capture device attached. Oddly, I see the word "Sony" appear for an instant in the source field, then it disappears and I get the message.

I have captured video from this exact same setup with at least 2 other programs, including WinDVD Creator, with no problem.

Using Sony VAIO laptop with Win XP Home, latest updates, built-in FireWire port.

[Ken Berry]

A couple of thoughts in no particular order...

Is your DV camera connected to the Plextor which in turn is connected via Firewire to your Vaio? (Certainly you wouldn't need to have the Plextor between camera and computer this way... though the normal Firewire piggy-backing should still work.)

Have you tried connecting the cable and switching on the camera, and only then opening VS8?

Have you set the capture format to DV in VS8?

A general comment: a number of hardware makers often tweak the software bundle which accompanies their devices to only work properly with that device. I don't know Plextor's policies in this regard, but it could be that the special (SE) version of VS is only meant to work with the Plextor device and not your camera (though I would agree this would be strange...)

[RobLewis]

Thanks for the quick reply. To answer your questions in order:
1. No. The Plextor isn't even connected at this point (all it does is convert analog video/audio to digital via USB).
2. Yes.
3. No. Where is that setting? (as an aside, WinDVD Creator 2, which also came with the Plextor converter, easily captures in DV-AVI format)
4. This could explain it, but WinDVD Creator 2 works with or without the Plextor device.

General question; are WinDVD and VideoStudio owned by the same company? There seems to be a great deal of overlap in functionality (like, 100%). If I were to purchase an upgrade of one or the other, which one is the better bet? The array of different products in the various "Gold", "Platinum" etc. editions, not to mention the various bundles, is mind-bending.

A couple of thoughts in no particular order...

Is your DV camera connected to the Plextor which in turn is connected via Firewire to your Vaio? (Certainly you wouldn't need to have the Plextor between camera and computer this way... though the normal Firewire piggy-backing should still work.)

Have you tried connecting the cable and switching on the camera, and only then opening VS8?

Have you set the capture format to DV in VS8?

A general comment: a number of hardware makers often tweak the software bundle which accompanies their devices to only work properly with that device. I don't know Plextor's policies in this regard, but it could be that the special (SE) version of VS is only meant to work with the Plextor device and not your camera (though I would agree this would be strange...)

[markojo]

A general comment: a number of hardware makers often tweak the software bundle which accompanies their devices to only work properly with that device. I don't know Plextor's policies in this regard, but it could be that the special (SE) version of VS is only meant to work with the Plextor device and not your camera (though I would agree this would be strange...)

First, may I assume that we're referring to the Plextor M402U converter unit which connects via USB? If not, please ignore the following.

The Plextor package includes both WinDVD Creator 2 and VS 8 SE. The documentation explains how Creator is to be used with the M402U, but VS is never mentioned at all. My guess is that they included VS just to hopefully introduce the customer to the VS product. Anyway, I used Creator to capture the M402 output, but switched to VS at that point for editing and sharing. All went well. When I tried to use VS for capture with the M402U, the device was not recognized.

[Ken Berry]

Rob -- re (2): have you also tried first starting VS8, then switching on the camera, and waiting a little while? (Sometimes it can take up to a minute to go through the recognition routine...)

re (3) -- the capture format is normally automatically set to DV when Firewire is involved. That setting is in the Capture page. When you select that tab and have the camera switched on in PLAY mode and connected via Firewire, the capture format is set automatically to DV (just 'DV' -- no reference to AVI once the camera is recognised. In fact, if you try to choose AVI as the format, it automatically reverts to DV.)

I just fired up my version of VS8 to test it all again -- been a while since I have used it. I have two DV video cameras, a Canon and a Sony. I had VS8 operating, then plugged in each camera via firewire, then started the camera, and after a few seconds got the Windows 'ding ding' indicator and a message saying a new device had been detected, should it use that? I clicked OK and a few seconds later, in the top left of the VS8 capture screen, it showed 'Canon MSDV' and 'Sony MSDV' respectively, and under that 'DV'.

To check still further, go to Tools (top right of screen) > Change Capture Plug-in. If it is not set for Ulead Direct Show Capture Plug-in, then change the setting. That is the DV codec.

Also, in the Options cogwheel icon about a third the way down the left hand side of screen, check to make sure it is set for Type 1 DV Encoder rather than Type 2 (which gives a lot of people trouble).

As for the ownership question, at the time VS8 came out, Ulead was an independent company. Then, more than a year ago now, InterVideo, which makes WinDVD and associated products, merged with/took over Ulead. The product lines of both companies remained competitors, though some of us noticed that some InterVideo codecs were being used in Ulead products thereafter. And more recently, a few months ago, both companies were taken over by Corel. We are still waiting to see what is going to happen to all the separate products. First indications are that only the top end Ulead products (DVD Workshop and Movie Studio Pro) and perhaps one or two of the smaller, lesser selling products, might be discontinued.

I have never used WinDVD Creator so cannot comment on its merits vis-a-vis Video Studio. Suffice it to say, though, that I have been a loyal Video Studio user since version 7.

I should also add that Marojo makes a valid point, though applying it to capture from your Sony. If you can use Creator 2 to capture DV successfully, but you prefer the VS editing interface, there is nothing to stop you adopting that workflow. Many of use here use a variety of programs in editing and authoring any single project. I will often capture with an excellent freeware specialised DV capturing program called WinDV (not to be confused with WinDVD!!! ). You can find it with a Google search. I then edit with VS10+ but usually author with Movie Factory 6+ or DVD Workshop...

The basic message is, don't feel as though you absolutely have to use only one program...