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I'm having problems when using Capture. Capture opens OK and the usual dialogue boxes open.
The Source box has 'AVC compliant device'. The other possibilities being, Panasonic DV camera, Panasonic DV web camera, ATI Rage Theatre video capture, and AVC compliant device as stated.
At this point my camcorder, a Panasonic NV MX 500, is connected correctly, is switched on and is set to playback.
The Format is set to DVD which I assume is the correct setting as I intend to transfer my edited video to DVD.
Capture folder is C/ etc..
When I attempt to change the source to Panasonic DV camera, my screen blackens, I get a dialogue box stating 'No signal' and my computer is shut down.
Incidentally, I assume I am using the correct source. ie. Panasonic DV camera although it could be said the camcorder is an AVC compliant device. The ATI Rage Theatre video capture shows activity but doesn't start the camcorder if I continue on to 'Capture', which is what I would expect.
Any help would be appreciated.

You say the camera is connected correctly, but that is precisely what we need to know: precisely how exactly it *is* connected... Otherwise, we have to presume either that it is not connected via Firewire, which is easily rectified; or it is -- in which case the answer might be a bit more problematical.

If it is *not* connected via Firewire cable to a firewire card in your computer, then that is the only real way of capturing high quality video from it. If you don't have a Firewire card, they are cheap and easy to install in a spare slot of your motherboard. If you don't have Firewire and are connected via USB, then at best you will get low quality streaming video.

However, if you *are* connected via Firewire (as I assume you would be, given that the camera model you have is now over 6 years old, so you would have learned how to connect it correctly), then the easiest thing is NOT to capture in DVD format. That would require the computer to do a major job of converting the incoming DV/AVI signal from the camera to DVD-compatible mpeg-2 on the fly. Many people over the years have found that this often causes their computer to simply fall over. So my primary advice would be to let VS detect the camera, and set its capture to DV. That is the best quality, and easy to edit into the bargain. Only downside is that the files are very large (13 GB per hour). But once you are finished editing, you can then convert the edited video into a DVD-compatible mpeg-2 for burning to DVD (Share > Create Video File > DVD).

If that does not work, then I would be suspecting a hardware problem with your DV set-up -- either at the camera end (not worth fixing, given the age of your camera) or at the computer end (easy and cheap to replace the firewire card); or else the cable (just buy or borrow another to test whether that was the problem).

Many thanks for your reply.
Yes the camcorder is connected via firewire and yes I'll try what you have suggested.
I didn't realise that capturing as I was attempting to do could be detrimental.
I'll try capturing as you suggest, detecting via VS and capturing to DV.
Many thanks for your help.

I've dabbled with capturing direct to mpeg2 using various flavours of VS over the years, with a 2.8Ghz Pentium 4 pc, which isn't too different from your Athlon 2400.

If you don't add lots of titles, overlays and video filters, it can be a good workflow, so long as you maintain the same video properties when you output to DVD.

There's no doubt that capturing to DV avi format is the most versatile workflow, however, with the benefit of being undemanding of cpu resources when capturing, though the higher data transfer rate means that your hard drive needs to be working properly. Simple things like regular defrags and disc cleanups can help keep it all in order.

I'm a bit concerned that the symptoms you report don't suggest a pc struggling to cope with the processing requirements, however, but rather some sort of configuration problem.

If you still have problems trying to capture to DV avi, you might try using Windows Movie Maker instead of VS for a test capture, since it comes with Windows. Many people use a tiny freeware program called WinDV (not to be confused with the commercial WinDVD) for DV avi capture. It's especially useful on a slower pc since the program loads in an instant.

Also check Device Manager and look for any warning yellow triangles that could indicate a problem with your Firewire card or drivers.

good luck!

Many thanks, Two Dogs,
Any help is always appreciated.
Regards, Roy.