8mm Forum: I need help in uploading DV to PC thru USB

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 04, 2011, 12:59 PM:

Hey folks, I need some technincal advice ...

I have finished shooting all the footage for my music video using a SHARP brand DV, (footage looks great!) ...

However, though I have a cable that has the smaller SHARP brand video port (I think it's firewire, but I'm not sure) to the USB port on my PC, my PC only says that it doesn't recognize this DV camera and I can't get any farther.

I tried looking up specific SHARP brand software for this camera, but I can't find any. Is there any kind of universal software that will allow any DV camera footage to be recognized by the PC? Note: I ave Windows Vista.

Once I can get it uploaded, I'm free and clear and am a good editor, but I am stumped for the moment, and I really want to get this music video done ...

Any help, folks?

Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on June 04, 2011, 02:26 PM:

Hi Osi - Can you be specific about the cable you are using, is it a DV to USB or Firewire? If you have both try using only the USB cable, open up Windows Media Player, and make sure your camera is in 'Playback' mode. You should be able to import footage using Windows Media Player. But I must confess, I'm not 100% sure since I use iMovie through Mac for importing footage.

Posted by Wayne Tuell (Member # 1689) on June 04, 2011, 04:30 PM:

I would think that Windows Vista "should" recognize (plug and play) about camera device you plug into it using a factory supplied cable. Then again, that format was quickly replaced by 7 Do you have a local electronic store nearby so you can plug your camera into their floor model laptops or see if they have the same camera you have and test it.

I'm using an old XP-PRO and it recognizes everything. It even turns on my Olympus Pen when the cable is plugged in to retrieve photos/video. Same (except turning on) for my JVC mini-DV using a fire-wire.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on June 04, 2011, 06:29 PM:

Osi,

Check the camcorder connection on another machine, heck, go back to an XP model. The cameras are "plug and play"; they shake hands with whatever you plug them into, that's why you can't find specific software drivers for download.

The reason I say this is I have experienced the same problem with a friend's camcorder, in this case a Canon ZR500 palmcorder.

I was transferring via USB with no problems on my XP Home machine, and after one upgrade of the Windows service pack, the PC no longer "sees" the camcorder. No warning, just no transfer. And that's just within XP.

Find a friend with an older setup, test it with the camcorder, and if it works, put the footage on a DVD or a memory stick, take it home, import and edit.

Every time they say Windows will be flawless..... [Roll Eyes]

Good luck,
Claus.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on June 05, 2011, 03:07 AM:

You need to connect a DV camera to a PC using a firewire cable and connection. It's possible your PC doesn't have one.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 05, 2011, 08:58 AM:

I have two PC's and neither of them have a "firewire" connection port on them. My cord is a DV to USB cord. The camera also has the standard old (I think) analog cables port.

I have seen an old fashioned used DVDr unit at a thrift store in town and I might be forced to simply make a DVD and then just load it up by DVD copy.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on June 06, 2011, 01:30 AM:

Osi, try to get the Windows Movie Maker add-on to do this; it has a capture facility that should make your Vista machine behave in a more XP fashion with your camera.

You certainly could burn it to a DVD first, but you will lose a pile of image quality that way.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on June 06, 2011, 03:31 AM:

Assuming one of your PC's is a desktop and not a laptop you just need to purchase a firewire card and slot it in. Should be fairly simple even if you know nothing about PC's.

Posted by Martin Jones (Member # 1163) on June 06, 2011, 05:41 AM:

Further to John's post, Firewire Cards for Desktop computers are dirt cheap. I actually fitted one with 2 Rirewire and 4 extra USB ports on it.
But be careful to check which type of spatre slot you have on your computer (PCI or PCI-e) and buy a card to match.

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on June 06, 2011, 06:38 AM:

You could of course find a friend who has the capability on his/her PC. Upload it to their machine and have them send the file to you.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 06, 2011, 10:27 AM:

Hmmm I wonder who? [Roll Eyes]

Too bad your not a local boy, Micheal!

By the way, thanX 4 the info about the "add on" for windows movie maker! I'll give it a try.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 07, 2011, 01:14 PM:

The only "add on's" mods or patches I ran into for the Windows movie maker were upgrades of effects but nothing dealing with drivers.

Since I have the original "Vista transformation pack" doenload to "re-upgrade" my computer, I'll delete the current Vista I have on my system and get it back to the previous standard XP and see if that does it.

Fingers crossed.

ThanX 4 all the advice folks!

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on June 08, 2011, 06:30 PM:

Osi, I prefer XP to Vista but wouldn't want to see you make such a major move unnecessarily. I found this at the Vista help site, and it ought to work for you if you have the correct WMM program:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Import-video-from-a-videotape

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 09, 2011, 10:27 AM:

I'll give that a look see Bill, thanX. The funny thing was after i dumped the Vista and reverted to XP, (with no success) I then upgraded to the Windows 7, (that didn't help, but the computer runs a little better in other regards.

Update...

I looked at that link, which was slightly confusing, but I placed all the info on a Word document. I also found what appears to be a microsoft "hotfix" that's supposed to be designed for this very problem. Fingers crossed.

[ June 09, 2011, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Osi Osgood ]

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on July 01, 2011, 09:10 AM:

What sort of media does your camera use? If all is stored on a memory card, take the card out and use a card reader.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 02, 2011, 01:01 PM:

Barry ...

Its DV and not on a media card. My SHARP brand DV digital camera is too early for that, that was just the problem.

HOWEVER!

Major update! Our own Doug has graciously offered to make a disc of the footage so that I can simply load the disc into the DVD drive and edit away!

Major kudo's to the mighty Meltzer, as I was truly desperate to get this footage edited! My website, album, sample bits (30 second snippets) photo album, EVERYTHING is ready to put on the internet, it's just waiting on that danged music video.

It has, however, allowed me to continue to perfect each tune, and every remix of that "A Merry Christmas" tune (along with the rest of the album) are getting better all the time.

I swear ... i love this modern age in some regards!

Back twenty years ago when I last did my music, i had to go to a regular recording studio and shell out mega money just to do even a few songs ...

These days, you can download all the programs to your computer and come up with some smashing mixes. That, and where you would sometimes struggle with a vocal, you can now make as many passes on a vocal as you like!

Heck the song "Turn Away" has over 53 or more passes on the vocal and the finished song is a composite of at least ten bits and pieces of them, just for a three minute and 13 second opus!

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