Cant Capture Camcorder DV data via firewire card

Mike_DV · Post by **Mike_DV** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 6:54 am

Hi Gang

There appear to be people out there using a Firewire Adapter IEEE-1394a 2-port (Multi-IO Connectivity) card and not being able to capture Camcorder DV data, I have the same situation.

I have also attempted to connect an iPod via the firewire card and it would not function correctly. The firewire card does not have any issue detecting the external device (Camcorder) although it does not allow the external device to function as intended. Eg cannot transfer music to an iPod or capture DV data from a camcorder.

I know this issue is not directly related to using Ulead VideoStudio 7 SE DVD (Patched)

When I start Ulead up my Camcorder is detected though I am able to hit play and the camcorder tape commences play although the video is not displayed. I hit the capture button and it created an AVI that is 66k in size. This file does not increase is size from here. The application crashes sayin to check that my device is connected and or functioning correctly.

I have a;

Toshiba Tecra S1
Intel Pent M 1.6
768 MBites
80Gig Hard Disk
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000

SYBA
CardBus to /Firewire Adapter IEEE-1394a 2-port
Model / SB-PCM1394-01-2F

Samsung VP-D352I MiniDV Camcorder

Do you have any suggestions or are able to refer me to a technical article to help me out.

Regards
Mike_DV

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:24 pm

What capture plugin do you use, what are your capture settings, how much free disk space is on your HDD, when did you defrag it last, what else is running on your system while capturing?

you need to give more detail to enable us to give meaningful advice.

mnolan · Post by **mnolan** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 9:57 pm

Can you capture using any other program (such as a program that came with the camera or with windows movie maker?) If not, then you may have a problem like I had.

I had the same sort of problem and after a lot of experimentation I discovered it was a combination of my DV camera and capture card chipset.

My solution was to shut down the camera and the computer. Turn on the camera, then boot up the computer, then run my capture program. If I do it in that order, everything works. If I do it in any other order, it does just what you described.....everything looks fine, but notheing actually captures.

You might try shutting everything down, then booting up/starting things in different sequences. write it down each time till you find one that works

good luck

Mike

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:05 am

Even your iPod isn't working. Maybe a special driver is needed for that
card.

Try replacing that card with an "Adaptec" Firewire (400) card (standard 3 port).
NOT the new 800 cards.

The adaptec pci and pcimia cards work (desktop computers & laptops).

Hope this helps,

MD

Mike_DV · Post by **Mike_DV** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 9:28 am

Hi All

Thanks for your advice. My laptop is 4 months old and has 40gig free disk space.

I have captured 60mins of footage to an .avi file that ended up being 23gig using a usb2 connection although the quality was crap. This was done using VS7 SE, also used MS and InterVideo recorder 5 to capture but still suffering from same loss of quality. A friend used firewire to capture DV data and the quality is much better, this is why I attempting to get this card working.

There is quite a significant amount of people that have a similar issue as mine (Google news groups) and it could only lead to one explanation. THESE CARDS ARE CRAP! I wonder if the manufacture has tested their products prior to distributing.

I am considering starting up an anti SYBA CardBus to /Firewire Adapter web site.

I have emailed Syba and they came back with;

*******************
Dear Customer:
1) Did you try to remove the driver and reinstall the driver again?
2) Did you try to apply the ac adapter to the card? please refer to manual.
Thanks.
*******************

THE CARD DOES NOT HAVE AN AC ADDAPTER! Only the 3 port ones do, and like I haven’t tried point one 5000000000000 times already.

This is a great forum and I hope the next person wanting to buy this type of card for their laptop stumbles across this article and changes their mind.

If any one else has any tips please let me know.

Many Thanks
Mike_DV

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 9:48 am

I suspect all PCMIA Firewire and USB 2.0 adapter cards have some peculiarities in their behaviour. I have a USB 2 one in my laptop (which only came with USB 1.0 sockets) and it will simply not allow to function two USB 2.0 laptop external HDDs I have (which nevertheless work, though slowly, on the USB ports). They also won't recognise my MP3 player (which again works slowly on the USB 1.0 ports) but happily recognises a Bluetooth dongle and a USB 2.0 wireless mouse dongle. I also connect an external USB 2.0 DVD burner with it with no problems... But it also won't recognise a full sized, independently powered external HDD...

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 2:22 pm

I would not use USB of any flavour to capture full frame video for DVD. 1/2 frame or less for web streaming, ok, but not good quality.

Listen to a sales man and you will get burned, one way or another. The sustained data rate of USB 2.0 is not up to the task, especially on a machine that has all sorts of software installed.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Jul 09, 2005 3:01 pm

You shouldn't need to POWER the card.
The Power adapter sends power out the extra 2 pins on the 6 pin firewire port.
The camcorder only uses 4 pin cable connector which is for data.
(your card may be an exception but all the cards I've worked with simply
send the power down the powered pins in the cable). That's the difference
between 4 pins and 6 pin firewire cables.
The 4 pin port connector carries only data.
The 6 pin port connector carries data & power to power external devices.

I'm using an Adaptec Fireconnect for notebooks Model# AFW-1430 on
a HP 2.8ghz machine.
Captures fine to/from dv camcorder etc.
Plug it in. XP loads it's driver and your done.

(You should remove the old driver from your system by going into device manager).

Hope this helps,

MD

keenart · Post by **keenart** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:27 pm

You should also know that Microsoft has had a FireWire driver, Video Capture, problem that was supposed to be fixed with SP 2.

Mike_DV · Post by **Mike_DV** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:26 am

Howdy, I've gone back to the guys I bought the card from and they have come back with this.

************************
you are connecting a high power device to the PCMCIA hence the reason for it detecting (which illustrates it is working fine) but cannot operate due to the power consumption.

hence you require a external power adaptor for the unit (PCMCIA). we do not have these in stock, but you can obtain these from any dick smith or Wagner or Tandy type store and please make sure you purchase the correct transformer with the correct output voltage etc, this data is available inthe units manual.

note all high drain devices regardless if USB or firewire will not function
properly unless they have the correct power requirements obtained for the
PCMCIA slots.
************************

The Adaptec Fireconnect for notebooks Model# AFW-1430 looks like it's going to do the job. I should be picking one up in a couple weeks time (When I get around to it), I will let all you guys know how it goes anyway.

I will be pushing to get my money back too.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:53 am

Are you powering your camcorder via the battery or external power supply.

Usually should be using the external power supply.
Some camcorders need to be powered by the power supply for the
firewire interface to work.
I have an old JVC that works that way.
The new camcorder can work off the battery.

If the techs are saying to power the card then it would have to be in the
cards circuitry. The power leaves the card on the extra 2 pins in the
6 pin connector from the card and do nothing at the end of the cable
that plugs into the camcorders 4 pin connector. In other words the power
isn't used or supported in a 4 pin to 6 pin cable.

MD

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:57 pm

I have yet to come across a camcorder that can be powered using the Firewire bus. The only DV device that I know of that can be powered in this way is the Canopus ADVC-110 A/D converter.

Mike_DV · Post by **Mike_DV** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 1:16 am

Hi Gang

Well it's been a while now and the guys I purchase the original 2 port firewire PCMCIA card from agreed to have it replaced with a 3 port fire wire PCMCIA card with the power input option.

IT NOW WORKS! I can capture DV data clearly without any distortion or errors.

The card has the option to have a power supply although it is not necessary.

My advice to anyone considering purchasing the 2 port firewire PCMCIA is spend an extra $10 and get the 3 port.

Cheers
Mike_DV