F'd Up Firewire Connection

[MCAN]

Hey guys. Here's the problem.

I just got a MiniDV camcorder the other day and am having problems capturing onto my computer.

When I first plugged in my firewire to both the computer and camera, there was the XP ding for a new device connection. There were no bubbles popping up so I disconnected the cam. Right after I did so, the bubbles popped up and of course since I disconnected I was informed that installation did not complete properly.

As soon as I connect the camera now, it is recognized and I am asked what I want to do. That's good but when it comes to capture, I have problems.

I've tried five programs (Pinnacle Studio 9 & 10, Pinnacle Liquid, Adobe Premiere, Windows Movie Maker) and they all react the same, so I know it's not the software.
When the software loads, it:
1) locks upon entry to the capture page, then is fine when I disconnect the camera
2) allows me control to start, stop, rewind, etc. the tape but freezes when it is capture time, and the tape continues to play
3) allows me to click play, stop, etc. but freezes when I click the button, and the camera does nothing
4) Works perfectly and I can capture. This has happened twice in 4 days of trying

I have isolated the problem to my computer. First I thought it was the low grade firewire cable that came with my firewire card. So I got a new one and got the same results. Today I tried capturing on my friend's computer which is older and slower than mine, and there were no problems. I'm thinking it's the firewire card. Too bad I just sold my extra one a few weeks ago. :(

BTW, my rig is:
P4 3.6 GHz
1GB RAM
ATI 256MB Video card
Windows XP

I know my computer can handle the capturing.

and my camera is a Sony DCR-TRV22

Does anyone have any ideas? Ask me for more info to help you figure it out.

[lmnobs]

did you let the hardware config go through the setup on your friends computer with the camera connected ??? If so you might uninstall the camera on your computer and hardware config and then reboot computer with camera connected and let it setup again ...

[bufordt]

Hey guys. Here's the problem.

I just got a MiniDV camcorder the other day and am having problems capturing onto my computer.

When I first plugged in my firewire to both the computer and camera, there was the XP ding for a new device connection. There were no bubbles popping up so I disconnected the cam. Right after I did so, the bubbles popped up and of course since I disconnected I was informed that installation did not complete properly.

As soon as I connect the camera now, it is recognized and I am asked what I want to do. That's good but when it comes to capture, I have problems.

I've tried five programs (Pinnacle Studio 9 & 10, Pinnacle Liquid, Adobe Premiere, Windows Movie Maker) and they all react the same, so I know it's not the software.
When the software loads, it:
1) locks upon entry to the capture page, then is fine when I disconnect the camera
2) allows me control to start, stop, rewind, etc. the tape but freezes when it is capture time, and the tape continues to play
3) allows me to click play, stop, etc. but freezes when I click the button, and the camera does nothing
4) Works perfectly and I can capture. This has happened twice in 4 days of trying

I have isolated the problem to my computer. First I thought it was the low grade firewire cable that came with my firewire card. So I got a new one and got the same results. Today I tried capturing on my friend's computer which is older and slower than mine, and there were no problems. I'm thinking it's the firewire card. Too bad I just sold my extra one a few weeks ago. :(

BTW, my rig is:
P4 3.6 GHz
1GB RAM
ATI 256MB Video card
Windows XP

I know my computer can handle the capturing.

and my camera is a Sony DCR-TRV22

Does anyone have any ideas? Ask me for more info to help you figure it out.

ATI makes great video cards and they are my card of choice. But the NVidia cards are much better suited to video capture. I have two systems, one has an ATI card and is used for just about everything. My second system has an NVidia card and is used almost exclusively for video capture.

[MCAN]

I'm not capturing with the ATI card. I'm using a firewire card.

[MCAN]

did you let the hardware config go through the setup on your friends computer with the camera connected ??? If so you might uninstall the camera on your computer and hardware config and then reboot computer with camera connected and let it setup again ...

Yeah, it went through the config. I uninstalled the camera on my comp last night. Capturing then worked and I thought the problem was solved, but then it kept doing the same old thing on subsequent attempts.

[MCAN]

And how would I uninstall the camera?

I've tried already. I went into my Device Manager and uninstalled the camera under it's driver tab. It came back and worked for a short period and went back to its misbehaving.

I just tried to do the same for my firewire card but it was even less successful.
Should I physically take the card out, reboot the computer, then put the card back in and boot again?

[Zero Tolerance]

You are interfacing via firewire...but you are indeed capturing via the video card. You cannot see the preview of video thru the firewire card.

If I were a betting man...I would bet its the ATI card or its drivers

[MCAN]

You are interfacing via firewire...but you are indeed capturing via the video card. You cannot see the preview of video thru the firewire card.

If I were a betting man...I would bet its the ATI card or its drivers

But I am using the firewire card for playback control am I not? There is a problem with the connection between the computer and the camera preventing me from even control the camera to capture. The video isn't even getting through.

Capturing isn't the problem. It's the connection between the camera and the computer.

[lmnobs]

And how would I uninstall the camera?

I've tried already. I went into my Device Manager and uninstalled the camera under it's driver tab. It came back and worked for a short period and went back to its misbehaving.

I just tried to do the same for my firewire card but it was even less successful.
Should I physically take the card out, reboot the computer, then put card back in and boot again?



Coulldn't hurt .....and try what Zero sugested bout the drivers

[MCAN]

I took out the firewire card, rebooted, put the card back in, and tried again. Still the same old garbage.
What am I checking for with the drivers, Zero?

[MCAN]

Did I mention that moving the firewire cable around the 3 ports is the only way I can get it to work? If one doesn't work, I try another, and repeat until camera control and capturing works. This doesn't always work but it has a couple times.

[lmnobs]

Sounds like the cable ...

[Zero Tolerance]

Figure out exactly what gfx card that you have and go to ATI's website and get the most recent STABLE drivers for the card.

Reinstall the new driver and test.

[bufordt]

I'm not capturing with the ATI card. I'm using a firewire card.

Try another firewire card. Try another video card. There are many factors that can have an effect on capturing video. I was just trying to give you some advice based on real world experiences. If you do not understand the process that is involved in capturing video, my first advice to you is to read up on the subject. When we as moderators give you advice, it is usually because we have had the same issues in the past. I am telling you from experience that capturing video with a machine equipped with an ATI card can be problematic. You can take the advice for what it is worth. I capture video on my NVidia equipped machine because 99.9% of the time it is a trouble free high res capture. When I am forced to capture on my ATI equipped machines for whatever reason, 99.9% of the time it is problematic.

[bufordt]

http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/Tutorials/Index.aspx

It has all of the tutorials that you could ever want for video capture.

[Zero Tolerance]

ATI = All Trouble Included!

LOL

Can you tell I hate ATI yet? :D

[MCAN]

Sounds like the cable ...

Yeah that's what I thought but I bought a new cable and it works just the same.

[MCAN]

Graphics card drivers updated, still trouble.
A new firewire card is in the works.

[bufordt]

Graphics card drivers updated, still trouble.
A new firewire card is in the works.

ATI graphics cards and video capture is a known issue. So you tried a new cable and new drivers and it did not work. Now you are going for a new firewire card. Why not just check the firewire card in the machine with another firewire device?? What you are doing is akin to replacing the motherboard because someone tells you that the ram is bad. You are not using good trouble shooting skills nor are you taking advice form those who have had this issue in the past. I hope that your new firewire card fixes the issue, but I doubt it will.

[MCAN]

[QUOTE=bufordt;17715]Why not just check the firewire card in the machine with another firewire device?? QUOTE]

I don't have another firewire device or system to put the card in.

A new firewire card is only $20 and a new graphics card is much more. I'd rather drop the $20 to try my theory.
I don't have trouble capturing at any other time with methods other that firewire, so my belief is that the firewire card is the problem.

I appreciate the help, but I don't know if you see my logic on the issue:

I'm having trouble getting the signal (let's call the data flow the signal) into my computer. The signal comes from the camera and enters the comp via the firewire card. The signal comes from the camera and runs through the firewire cable no problem, but when it hits the firewire card things go wrong.
I assume everyone is aware that when the camcorder is hooked up to the computer, the user is able to control playback via their capturing program. If I cannot control the camera or get the signal into the computer, there must be a kink in the link between the computer and the camera. Since the two are connected via the firewire card, I must assume that the card is my problem.

Please tell me what is wrong with my theory. I would really like to know what I'm missing.

As you have told me, ATI has capture problems. But my camera is not connected to my graphics card. As I mentioned earlier, when I capture with other methods, all goes well.