PC won't Recognize Camcorder Connection via Firewire, Help Please

[Corndog]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum. This looks like a great place to hang out.

I am having a problem getting my PC to recognize my new camcorder. I would appreciate any help. I will try and detail what I have done so far to resolve the issue on my own.

I have a self-built PC:

OS: Windows XP Pro, SP2
Processor: Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz
Motherboard: AOpen AX4SPE-UN
RAM: 512 MB
Graphics: Radeon 9200
Firewire: NEC OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller

First of all I have an older camcorder, Sony Handicam DCR-PC120, which the PC recognizes without any problem.

My new camcorder is a Panasonic PV-GS300. I installed the software and drivers that came with the new camcorder.

When I connect this new camcorder to the PC, via firewire cable, the PC fails to recognize that there is new hardware; no ding and no listing in Device Manager. I know that the cable and Firewire card are good, since the old camcorder is recognized using the same cable and port.

Yes, I do have the camcorder set to the correct setting to transfer video to PC.

The PC will recognize the new camcorder if connected using USB, but I can only transfer still photos using USB. I want to transfer video and burn to DVD to share with family.

I know that the camcorder is not faulty, because I asked that the camcorder be hooked-up to a PC using my firewire cable before I left the store, and their PC recognized the camcorder once connected. I asked if there was anything special I needed to have installed on my PC, and was told "no".

I have checked for IRQ conflicts; none found.

I originally tried connecting the camcorder and PC without Window SP2 update installed. After reading tons of troubleshooting info online I decided that this might be the problem, so I now have SP2 installed. It did not correct the problem.

I took the camcorder to a friend's house, and tried connecting the camcorder to their PC. Their computer did not recognize the camcorder either.

At this point, I am at a loss as to what the issue could be.

[Geek13]

Hi,
I am having the same problem with a Sony camcorder. Did you get it to work?

[Corndog]

I have not been able to find the problem.

[John A]

Firewire can be finicky... I often have problems where nothing shows up after I plug a camcorder into my computer(s). What I usually do:

1. Turn off computer and camcorder
2. Connect computer to camcorder via Firewire
3. Turn on camcorder, make sure it's working
4. Lastly, start up the computer, and make sure it works.
5. If not, turn off everything and try again (you can also try reversing the order, ie. turn on computer before camcorder)

Don't know why this is, but this method usually works for me.

[thefiveryans]

Hi,
I am having the same problem with a Sony camcorder. Did you get it to work?

Geek13 - I am also having the same problem with my Sony Handicam. I can connect via USB (poor video quality), but not the I1394 cable. From what I read, we may need the Sony software on a Sony Viao computer? If you ever figure this out, please e-mail me @ [e-mail]

Thanks!

[bessi]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum. This looks like a great place to hang out.

I am having a problem getting my PC to recognize my new camcorder. I would appreciate any help. I will try and detail what I have done so far to resolve the issue on my own.

I have a self-built PC:

OS: Windows XP Pro, SP2
Processor: Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz
Motherboard: AOpen AX4SPE-UN
RAM: 512 MB
Graphics: Radeon 9200
Firewire: NEC OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller

First of all I have an older camcorder, Sony Handicam DCR-PC120, which the PC recognizes without any problem.

My new camcorder is a Panasonic PV-GS300. I installed the software and drivers that came with the new camcorder.

When I connect this new camcorder to the PC, via firewire cable, the PC fails to recognize that there is new hardware; no ding and no listing in Device Manager. I know that the cable and Firewire card are good, since the old camcorder is recognized using the same cable and port.

Yes, I do have the camcorder set to the correct setting to transfer video to PC.

The PC will recognize the new camcorder if connected using USB, but I can only transfer still photos using USB. I want to transfer video and burn to DVD to share with family.

I know that the camcorder is not faulty, because I asked that the camcorder be hooked-up to a PC using my firewire cable before I left the store, and their PC recognized the camcorder once connected. I asked if there was anything special I needed to have installed on my PC, and was told "no".

I have checked for IRQ conflicts; none found.

I originally tried connecting the camcorder and PC without Window SP2 update installed. After reading tons of troubleshooting info online I decided that this might be the problem, so I now have SP2 installed. It did not correct the problem.

I took the camcorder to a friend's house, and tried connecting the camcorder to their PC. Their computer did not recognize the camcorder either.

At this point, I am at a loss as to what the issue could be.

sony handycam DCR-PC110E bought in 2001 and operated on w98, ME and XP since 2004. I am having same problem since about Jan 2007. Used to work so well before Jan. I developed so many videos but cannot upload to pc now.I have 2 firewire cables 6pin for desktop and 4pin for laptop.I phoned microsoft they said they dont support 98, checked my xp was OEM said I must get retail XP but you say you have new machine. Cannot understand. Can someone help please. Bessi

[Nstig8or]

Try downloading fix at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=CA0F2007-18B5-4112-8BD6-8BF4BD3130B9&displaylang=en

Worked for my camcorder.

[bessi]

Thank you for your help. Unfortunately the fix did not work for me. Thank you for it anyway.
This is in reference to recognition of camcorder connection via firewire.

[tintbum]

sony handycam DCR-PC110E bought in 2001 and operated on w98, ME and XP since 2004. I am having same problem since about Jan 2007. Used to work so well before Jan. I developed so many videos but cannot upload to pc now.I have 2 firewire cables 6pin for desktop and 4pin for laptop.I phoned microsoft they said they dont support 98, checked my xp was OEM said I must get retail XP but you say you have new machine. Cannot understand. Can someone help please. Bessi

I've been having the very same problem. I have search and tried many things, such as the fixes from the Windows page, nothing has worked. Then I rang on the phone, my support centre which I found on the Sony website for my area, they put me onto a tech, who guided me through to a webpage which delt with my model
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/281881/product/dcr-hc40e/modelfirst
So the answer is, you have to upgrade to PMB (Picture Motion Browser), I had Sony Picture Package ver 1.0, older versions don't work any more no matter how many drivers you get updated or how many window bugs fixes you get.
It is a big file, you can email sony to get instructions on getting a smaller one just for your model
Sony know about this problem very well, so ring yr sony bloke on the phone if my instructions aren't helping. Let me know how you go. [e-mail]

[desvergue]

i have the same problem... I have a DCR-HC28 HANDYCAM. ANYONE WHIT A SOLUTION =( ???

[NC Fred]

I don’t use my camcorder often, but it was working OK the last time I used it. This time, the PC would not recognize it. After many hours of fooling with the thing, I remembered that, quite some time ago, I let one of the driver update utilities update my FireWire Drivers because it said they were out of date.

I went to Device Manager and told it to update the drivers. It reinstalled the old drivers and, now, everything works again.

[tintbum]

My computer doesn't have an iLINK any more so I don't know if this works. It was updated on the 19 april 2010 ,at sony e support
http://tinyurl.com/33xmok8

Follow the steps below to troubleshoot this issue.

1. Make sure the digital camcorder is set up to output a signal through the i.LINK (aka Apple® FireWire® port) prior to being connected to the computer.

NOTE: Not all camcorders need set up to output through the i.LINK connection. Consult the instruction manual of your camcorder for specific information. Manuals are available online through the Manuals/Specs/Warranty link on this page.
2. Make sure the i.LINK ports on the computer and camcorder are not dusty or dirty.
3. Make sure the i.LINK cable is connected securely to the i.LINK ports on the camcorder and computer.

IMPORTANT: Some newer Macintosh® computers have a FireWire 800 jack that has 9 pins. It may be necessary to use an 800-to-400 FireWire adapter. Visit the Apple Web site at http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW748LL/A for information.
4. Make sure the camcorder is turned on and being powered by the supplied AC power adapter.

NOTE: The i.LINK function of the camcorder cannot be used simultaneously with the Handycam® Station that is supplied with select camcorders. In this case, remove the Handycam Station and connect the AC power adaptor and i.LINK cable to the camcorder directly.
5. Make sure the video capture card and software are configured properly to receive the i.LINK signal from the camcorder.

NOTES:
* Depending on the video capture card and software you are using, you may need to manually configure the capture card and software to receive a signal from the i.LINK port. If applicable, check the Help files of the software or contact the video capture card or software manufacturer for further information.
* Sony digital camcorders are not provided with and do not require special device drivers for i.LINK connectivity. The device drivers that allow i.LINK connectivity should be provided with the video capture software. If the software you are using does not appear to have the required drivers, you will need to contact the software manufacturer.

6. If the issue is still not resolved, try closing and reopening the video capture software.
7.
If the issue is still not resolved, try restarting the computer with the camcorder connected and powered on.
8. If the issue is still not resolved, try using a different i.LINK cable or connecting to another i.LINK port or different computer. * * * * *
Why they haven't invented a tape reader that is generic just like they have for card readers is beyond me! It would make life so much easier.

[baakeandy]

How to Convert Sony HDR-SR10E MTS to FLV with sony camcorder software?

Do you have some short films shot with Sony HDR-SR10E AVCHD camcorder, and want to share them on your website? It will make your site more attractive with videos. While Apple compete with Adobe, the Flash support on Apple devices like iMac, MacBook Pro do not support exporting to Flash FLV/SWF now. You can not directly export FLV from the Apple QuickTime Player, iMovie or Final Cut Pro/Final Cut Express.

One solution is to upload videos to YouTube and embed YouTube videos on your site. If you do not want to embed YouTube videos, you can convert Sony HDR-SR10E MTS files to FLV with Mac Sony MTS converter, and put the FLV videos on web server with Flash player. Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac is the recommended Mac sony camcorder software for you. It exports Flash videos with automatic deinterlacing function, which makes the FLV videos play without interlacing artifacts. It could also help you merge several Sony .mts video clips and export as one file.

Here is the step-by-step guide to convert Sony HDR-SR10 videos to Flash on Mac.

Step 1. Load Sony HDR-SR10E videos to Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac.
Run Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac as the Mac Sony HDR-SR10 converter, and click the "Add" button to load .mts files for conversion.

Step 2. Choose Flash FLV output format.
Click the "Format" option, and choose Flash Video > FLV-Flash Video Format(*.flv) as output format. You can also choose the profiles like FLV H.264(*.flv) or F4V(/f4v).
[img]http://image.mxf-converter.com/201007/convert-sony-hdr-mts-flv.jpg[/img]
Tips:
With The above mentioned output, you shall use Flash player like JW player, Moyea PlayerBox player, or Flow player to play the Flash videos. If you want the video to play automatically, you may choose SWF-SWF Forma(*.flv) as output.

Step 3. Transcode Sony HDR-SR10 MTS to Flash.
Click the "Convert" button under the preview window, and the conversion from Sony MTS to Flash video FLV/SWF will start right away.

Wait for a while, and you can upload the Flash videos to your sever and embed them on your web page.

PS:
The "Merge into one file" on the main interface is to join/splice .mts files.

[glam101]

don't you need to install a cd-rom that came with the camcorder in order for your computer to recognize it..? ive been doing alot of reading and i'm thinking that's my missing link. this camcorder is a few years old but it did come with a cd-rom that has since disappeared. my firewire works with my other camcorder but not with this one--maybe i dont have the proper drivers?

[computergeek1]

try installing flash pro epesager onto the video capture file... search for flash pro epesager in google..

hope it works

[wryun]

To John A:

Your suggestion worked for me!! After hours of mind-numbing aggravation and dozens of different experiments, I stared in disbelief as your steps worked for me. Seemed so simple I didn't think it would be the solution. Turned off computer, turned off camcorder, disconnected, re-connected, turned on camcorder, turned on computer ... Firewire jvc gr-d72 camcorder was recognized. Had to come back and say Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[Deanna Buckles]

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26829

I also had the same aggravating problem. I eventually had to boot up my old laptop since I never had any problems transferring video on my old laptop. I connected my Sony HDR-HC1 camcorder and it suggested I update my codec pack. I then updated my codec pack on my new laptop and it started working...yay! I'm not sure if this will work for everyone but it worked for me. I am using a Windows 7 Ultimate on my new laptop and it now recognizes my camcorder. Click on the link above to get the codec package.

[JAI1978]

I purchased a sony handycam Model No. DCR-TRV285E in the year 2005. I used to transfer tape data into CD via USB cable. But the quality of the picture was never satisfactory. I recently came to know that the picture quality can be maintained if tape data is transfered through DV cable (I-Link Cable) using the Firewire port. I purchased the Firewire card along with 4 pin to 4 pin i-link cable, install it along with sony picture package software and camera driver. But my camera was not detected by PC.

On the camera LCD a message DV In is visible, it means that camera is detecting the DV Cable but PC is not detecting it. I took my friends camera different model and try it to connect and amazingly it was connected to the PC.

I wanted to know where is the problem. Is it camera? or software problem.

Pleas let me know.....It will be a great help if the same could be solved.