Captured video from camcorder no longer has audio - help!

[takk]

Hi, I'm new to these forums - completed the hardware part of the reg as best I could and searched the user manual, read the read-me files, but couldn't find answers, so here I am

I had been using VS10 quite happily for the past year or so, and VS9 before that. My camera is a Sony Digital 8 Handycam DCR-TRV350 NTSC (about 6 years old I think). My computer is a Dell Latitude D620 notebook and it doesn't have a firewire port - but the USB port has always worked very well for transferring videos from my camera to my computer.

Two weeks ago, everything was working fine. I filmed my kids' band performing, and did what I usually do -- captured the video footage directly from the camera (Sony Hi8 tape) to my laptop using VS10, edited it, split the audio off to make an audio CD, saved the video in MP4 format and uploaded it to YT.

A few days later, I videotaped another performance, and did things the same way as above. But this time, for some reason, after capturing the video, on playback there was no audio. At first I thought the tape might have been bad (it had been in the glove compartment of my car for a couple of years, through the summer heat and winter freezes) -- but that theory didn't work because the audio was loud and clear when I played the when I played the video footage back on the camera.

Last night, I filmed again, used a brand new tape... and once again, no sound. The sound files don't seem to be getting captured at all - the "split audio" feature disappers when I put one of last night's captured clips into the timeline and reappears when I click on a much earlier clip that has sound.

I thought perhaps my wire had been damaged somehow, but I just tried a brand new one and it still doesn't work. My next potential reason for the sudden problem was that I had perhaps inadvertantly ticked/unticked a box in one of the settings menus. But, all the places I could find that had an option to not include audio were set to include it.

My next thought was that maybe a file involved in capturing audio was corrupt. I was going to re-install VS10, but then decided I might as well download the free trial of VS11+ ... so I installed VS11+ and captured a few sec of footage from the camera to my computer.... and.... still no audio!

I've tried a variety of trouble-shooting options for some USB device related problems I found in other posts on this forum, but everything says the device is working properly.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I just realized it's almost 8 a.m. and I've been up all night trying to figure this out! Must get some sleep then try it again based on whatever you guys say!

Later....

takk


saved the the audio tracks captured normally too. A week later, when I tried to do the exact same thing, for some reason the audio tracks did not get captured - but they were recorded because they play through the camera's speaker

[Ron P.]

Welcome to the forums,

First thing is that regardless of which version, since it has worked and now does not, we must start looking at any and all changes made in between. What other applications (other than the trial version of VS11) have you installed? Any windows updates?

What type of capture device are you using? I know the Sony DCR's do not have a USB port. If you're using the S-Video out and connecting it to your capture device, you must also use the Audio-out, as S-Video does not carry the audio signal. If you're using the A/V port to connect via RCA composite, make sure that the audio end of the cable is securely connected.

Did you try a new USB or A/V cable? If your video is being captured I would guess the USB cable is not bad, but the A/V cable might be.

Try capturing a short clip using Windows Movie Maker. If the audio is still missing, it would indicate a hardware problem, not software.

Next do you have the CD or download version of VS10? If you have the CD try first doing a "repair" install.

Finally it seems to correct several issues, so Go HERE and download the latest MS Direct-X drivers. The most current is dated March 2008.

[Ken Berry]

I know it is not what you want to hear right now, but both Ron (Vidoman) and myself both happen to have Sony Digital 8 cameras in our camera collections. I happen to use mine (a DCR-TRV480E) specifically and only to capture my old analogue 8mm video collection by playing the tapes back directly and capturing them via Firewire.

And I am afraid that, regardless of whatever quality you think you have been capturing them using the USB connection, you are doing both yourself and your old tapes a major disservice. The Digital 8 comes with a Firewire connection and that is for a purpose. I was positively stunned when I bought the Digital 8 to see how it would go as I was not particularly satisfied with the analogue capture device I had been using previously to capture my analogue tape collection. And while it might not be quite as good quality as capturing mini DV digital tape via firewire, it comes pretty close. Truly excellent, and it gives me quite literally considerable joy to be able to produce all my old tapes on modern DVD in quite high quality.

I realise you say you don't have a Firewire port on your Dell. My own, now old Dell laptop happened to have one. But I also bought a PCMCIA Firewire card for it which would definitely work in your own laptop. I bought mine about 5 years ago, and I am sure they are still on the market. And cheap. Believe me, you would be doing yourself an ENORMOUS favour by buying one, and a relevant Firewire cable (in this case a 4 pin to 4 pin since the camera has a 4 pin jack and the PCMCIA card will normally also usually have two 4 pin jacks). And then capturing everything over again that way. Believe me (once again), once you see the quality, you won't at all resent the idea of spending all that time once again capturing...

[takk]

I know it is not what you want to hear right now, but both Ron (Vidoman) and myself both happen to have Sony Digital 8 cameras in our camera collections. I happen to use mine (a DCR-TRV480E) specifically and only to capture my old analogue 8mm video collection by playing the tapes back directly and capturing them via Firewire.

... Believe me (once again), once you see the quality, you won't at all resent the idea of spending all that time once again capturing...

Thanks, Ken. I thought that might be the advice I would get, but I had no idea there was such a difference in quality between USB & firewire. The thing is, this is a university-issued Dell lap-top (I work at a university) and in a month or so we're getting new ones (they upgrade them every two years). This time we had a choice between a Dell and a Mac, if we could justify needing a Mac, and I put in for a Mac (I'm a bit nervous about that b/c I've never used a Mac before but everyone I know who has one loves it and says they're much better than PCs - I hear they are much better for multi-media so I'd be curious to have your opinion on that).

But I think, if the quality would be that much better, I will go download them onto my friend's computer via firewire. Thanks again!

Susan

[takk]

Welcome to the forums,

First thing is that regardless of which version, since it has worked and now does not, we must start looking at any and all changes made in between. What other applications (other than the trial version of VS11) have you installed? Any windows updates?

I've been trying to think what I might have installed - only windows updates and maybe java updates.

What type of capture device are you using? I know the Sony DCR's do not have a USB port. If you're using the S-Video out and connecting it to your capture device, you must also use the Audio-out, as S-Video does not carry the audio signal. If you're using the A/V port to connect via RCA composite, make sure that the audio end of the cable is securely connected.

I wish I knew more about cables It's got a USB connector on one end and what looks like a flattened firewire input on the other end (it's the same one that's standard for digital still cameras - not sure what that cable is called, sorry!). I'm beginning to suspect, based on these posts, that this cable is not even meant for video! But it's what I've used for years and it worked before - the videos seemed okay... I mean the quality was terrible or anything, except for ones that were shot in really low lighting. [/quote]

Did you try a new USB or A/V cable?

Yes - same problem with a brand new cable.

Next do you have the CD or download version of VS10? If you have the CD try first doing a "repair" install.

download version, unfortunately.

Finally it seems to correct several issues, so Go HERE and download the latest MS Direct-X drivers. The most current is dated March 2008.

Thanks for the suggestion - I actually did that before I installed VS11+.

I'm at a friend's place right now transferring the videos to her computer in AVI format via firewire... it's just an incredibly time-consuming process to then upload them to my web-server then back onto my computer because the files are so monstrously big (each one it close to a GB and I only have 2 gigs of webspace! Any suggestions there? Is there some way I can just connect my laptop to her desktop and transfer the files? She doesn't have ULead and I don't want to edit them on her computer anyway.

Okay... back to it! Thanks for the help.

[Ken Berry]

What program are you using to capture on her computer? I trust it is one that captures DV format and that that is what you mean when you are saving in AVI format (i.e. DV/AVI). There are a variety of formats which use the .avi extension, but it is ONLY DV that you are after.

And sadly, your preferred method of capturing then uploading to your web server just isn't practicable. DV is large -- around 13 GB are required just for one hour of captured video. The only way to transfer the files from her computer to yours would be to buy a cheap file transfer device/cable. There are quite a few on the market. Alternatives would be (my preference) connecting an external hard drive to her computer either via USB or Firewire; or even a large (i.e. 16 GB or larger) USB flash drive... I was at a computer fair yesterday and bought a 16 GB stick-- they were as cheap as A$80/US$75, though to get a decent transfer speed I paid A$95/$US90 for a Corsair Voyager...

[takk]

What program are you using to capture on her computer? I trust it is one that captures DV format and that that is what you mean when you are saving in AVI format (i.e. DV/AVI). There are a variety of formats which use the .avi extension, but it is ONLY DV that you are after.

And sadly, your preferred method of capturing then uploading to your web server just isn't practicable. DV is large -- around 13 GB are required just for one hour of captured video. The only way to transfer the files from her computer to yours would be to buy a cheap file transfer device/cable. There are quite a few on the market. Alternatives would be (my preference) connecting an external hard drive to her computer either via USB or Firewire; or even a large (i.e. 16 GB or larger) USB flash drive... I was at a computer fair yesterday and bought a 16 GB stick-- they were as cheap as A$80/US$75, though to get a decent transfer speed I paid A$95/$US90 for a Corsair Voyager...

Thanks for the feedback - and yes I meant DV/AVI. After I wrote that post, I decided to try setting up a "home wireless network" to share files... and I got to the part in the process where it said, "Insert flash drive" and it hit me that I could use a flash drive to transfer files. So I rushed down to "The Source" just before it closed - the biggest one they had was 4 GB, but it was on sale for $30 (regularly $55). It's fine for our purposes since each file is about a gig. Thanks again!

[sjj1805]

The USB sticks are handy - I carry a 4GB one round with me in my wallet, but very slow when transfering large files.
The best option is an external USB Hard Drive - consider them as portable drives. I have a 1 terabyte drive that cost a very reasonable ¢G140 from a famous High Street computer superstore. You can get them even cheaper by ordering them online.

They are fast and will connect to any computer with a USB 2 port so they are ideal for exchanging large files between computers. There are also Firewire versions available and some that will connect by both methods.

[takk]

Alternatives would be (my preference) connecting an external hard drive to her computer either via USB or Firewire; or even a large (i.e. 16 GB or larger) USB flash drive... I was at a computer fair yesterday and bought a 16 GB stick-- they were as cheap as A$80/US$75, though to get a decent transfer speed I paid A$95/$US90 for a Corsair Voyager...

(Sorry about the multiple posts above - I kept getting an error msg & it looked like my msg had not been posted, I hit "submit" a few times before giving up - then seeing that every one had in fact been posted! I just edited out all the text so there aren't multiple copies of my long-winded post!).

Hi Ken,

I'm still working on this firewire issue and, following on what you said above about external HDs, I was thinking I would buy an external HD with firewire. That would solve my low disk space problem as well and I could download my videos via firewire to the external HD. I was searching eBay and then going off and doing research on different models when I came across this question and answer (from 8 mos ago) on yahoo answers that has me wondering if my solution is going to work after all:

Question: I do not have a firewire port on my computer, but my external hard drive does. How can I transfer mini-DV's? I have a panasonic mini-DV camcorder, and I think I may need a driver installed. Is there a way for my external hard drive to recognize my camera?


Answer: No your external hard drive will not recognize your camera unless it is also connected to your PC via FireWire. You need to get either a card to upgrade your PC with FireWire or you need to buy a video capture solution that includes FireWire as part of it's offering.

In the answer above, do you know what is meant by ¡§a video capture solution that includes FireWire as part of its offering¡¨?

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think an external HD with firewire would work? Here's the one I was thinking about getting:

External 500GB/7200RPM/16MB Buffer USB2.0/IEEE1394 Western or Seagate 500GB Hard Drive: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0215994016

Thanks!

[tyamada]

Here is some FAQs from the Sony UK site isn't on the US site. Capturing video, USB Streaming.
http://tinyurl.com/6e53um

Here is a FAQ that might be relevant:
http://tinyurl.com/5jezm2

How did you capture video before you started using VS11?
Try to capture using the software that came with your camera.

[Ken Berry]

General note: I have deleted the excess posts above which are caused by the latest bug in the Board software! I -- and others -- have been regularly receiving Debug messages when trying to post answers, but I quickly learned not to press the Submit button multiple times as it was in fact posting each time...

Anyway, back to the substantive question -- if I understand you, you want to buy an external Firewire disk which will also connect via USB cable to your computer. But I am afraid I agree that this won't work to capture DV format since the computer itself won't have the hardware which 'precipitates' installation of the Microsoft DV/Firewire driver. The computer would certainly be able to 'see' the external drive, but I am not even sure it would see a camera connected to that drive via firewire because of that lack in the computer's internal architecture.

I might also add a further personal note. My own experience with external hard drives was for at least a couple of years exclusively with Firewire models (though this was in the days before USB 2.0). They all worked for a while (my computers have always had Firewire cards installed because of the video editing connection). But I found that each of them eventually developed troubles with the failure to write data to them or just a straight hang where the computer could no longer see them without a total reboot.

After doing some considerable research, I found that it was in fact quite a common problem with many external firewire drives, caused usually by the type of chip used in them. One work-around was to disable write caching for the drive, but I found that also was at best only a temporary solution. Anyway, while I still always use cameras that connect via Firewire, I have given up on external firewire hard drives and switched to USB 2.0 models which have never given me any problems.

USB 2 drives are plenty fast enough for video transfer, though not in DV format. One (slight) downside to USB drives is that they are slowed to the speed of the slowest USB device connected to your computer -- a lowest common denominator effect not shared by Firewire.

Anyway, the long and the short of all this is that there is no alternative, if you want to capture in DV format, but to have or install a Firewire card or Firewire PCMCIA card if it is a laptop...

[takk]

How did you capture video before you started using VS11?
Try to capture using the software that came with your camera.

Thanks so much for those links - some of the issues they cover do sound very close to my problem. Haven't had time to try the suggested fixes yet - just wanted to say thanks.

As for capture software, I was using VS10 and before that, VS9. I never did like the software that came with the video camera - but it's a good suggestion to try it again (Sony "image transfer" maybe?).

FWIW, I used the software CD the other day to try installing the USB drivers in case that was the problem. The result? My computer no longer recognized my camera - "No device connected"! I got rid of the drivers and am back at square 1 again. Hopefully there's something in those troubleshooting links you posted.

[takk]

Anyway, the long and the short of all this is that there is no alternative, if you want to capture in DV format, but to have or install a Firewire card or Firewire PCMCIA card if it is a laptop...

I'm glad I held off bidding on that external firewire drive. Thanks so much for all your help. I'll buy a PCMCIA card with firewire. Hopefully those are all created equal and there isn't some particular kind I should be buying - if there is, please let me know. Thanks again!

[Ken Berry]

The PCMCIA firewire card I have for one of my laptops is a generic one -- doesn't even carry a brand name or a tag saying 'Made in China'! But it works fine...