Alright guys I'm pretty damn confused about this now. I always thought it would be a fairly simple process, but apparently I was wrong. I have my VX2100 here...I installed my brand new Firewire card (it's a SIIG 1394 3-Port PCI I/O Adapter)...started up my computer again...it recognized the new hardware and updated automatically...but when I plug the Firewire cord into my camera...nothing happens. I thought it would detect it's presence automatically.

What am I supposed to do? I have my camera with a tape in it with maybe 10 minutes of footage that I'm planning to transfer to my computer to start fooling around with it. I'm gonna unplug the firewire cord from it right now until you guys can give me some advice, cause I'm truly lost. Where do I need to go once I have my camera with footage, my functioning firewird card, and my firewire cable that is plugged in only to the card and not the camera? How do I captuer this footage properly? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Frank,
Do you have an editing software or capture program installed?

I.E.; Vegas Video,Sceneanlyzier,Premiere,Avid Express,Studio8

If so, which one as that would help to determine what the problem might be.

Don

Christ almighty this is frustrating the hell out of me. Please guys I need your help. I even download Windows Movie Maker but even that damn thing won't recognize that my camera is plugged in. What the hell. This is absolutely infuriating. Help please help.

I didn't have an editing program until I just downloaded Windows Movie Maker. I know it's crap but I just wanna get this video onto my computer somehow, and I figure it would be pretty simple to figure out. Yet when I try to capture the video it doesn't recognize that my camera is plugged in and turned on in VCR mode.

What operating system do you have installed? Some OS/configuration will recognize the IEEE-1394 but may not detect the camcorder.

I'm using Windows XP.

Hmmm! You got me! XP will likely detect a fly landing on your keyboard! So it's surely going to detect a camcorder hooked on a functional Firewire card. Do you have another way to test your IEEE-1394 card? Have you tried changing cable? Bad cables are not uncommon.

That's what I was thinking. My device manager says my IEEE card is working properly and everything. It has to be the cable. Only problem is I only have this one cable. I hope that's what it is though so it can be easily resolved. Why are firewire cable so unreliable? I would've thought that they'd be hella reliable, even more than USB or something. Please god let it just be the stupid cable.

I've encountered many people that had bad cables. Most cables shipped with cards are OK, but some manufacturers cut on costs and skimp out on the cable. In any event, having a nice shielded cable will not be a bad investment. Even if it turns out not to be the cable.

Another way to rule out the camcorder as the problem, go to a friends house, or a computer shop that you know have IEEE-1394 enabled computers, and try it there.

The cable I have is a 6ft IEEE 1934 Firewire Cable from a company called Manhattan. I bought it from a local computer shop that I have quite a bit of faith in. Doesn't change the fact thought that they might just sell crappy firewire cables, seeing as how I've never bought one from them before. Or perhaps I just got a shoddy one. Hell.

Switch on the PC.
Plug the cable into the camera.
Turn the camera on in VCR mode.
WIN XP should detect it.

If that doesn't work, try installing the Firewire card in another PCI slot.

And as sugested earlier, try another cable.

If possible try your camera and cable in another PC.

Good luck and best regards,
Arnaldo

You might also want to turn the camera to the VCR mode BEFORE you open up the NLE. Sometimes the computer systems just get finicky.
Good Luck,
Don

i've used movie maker before - just messing around - xp should, when you turn your camera on, recognize the attatched device - it will throw up a dialog box asking you what you want to do - capture video, capture pics, etc...much like the prompt when you put a cd in the drive -- IT HAS TO BE THE CABLE!!!

Test the cable. Try using another device on preferably another computer. Then, try that device on your WinXP computer.

I just did a Firewire "A/V thru" transfer using my VX2000 on a WinXP computer, using Pinnacle Studio8 to manage the transfer.
I remember that the VX2000 showed up as a device alongside
the disks and stuff. I don't remember this happening as soon
as I plugged in the VX2000, but I think it happened when I switch the unit to VCR mode.

Usually, I use an old JVC miniDV camera for my Firewire transfers. I don't think that the JVC is ever detected by WinXP. It doesn't cause pop-up device detection dialog box, and it doesn't show up as a device. Nonetheless, Studio8 can control it for Firewire capture.

On some cameras there is a DV-Output option you must turn on in the menus (the Canon XM series has this...). Check on your menus to see if there is a DV-Out option. Otherwise, GET A NEW CABLE!

Ross may be on to something here...i have to turn on usb streaming in the menu on my sony pdx10...you may want to try your camera with plain old fasion usb connection allbiet slow...it will let you work with and test your camera functions...but like Ross said...check your menu for usb streaming

I own and operate a small computer retail shop and should be able to help you with this...if you email me ill send you my phone number

good luck

Well hot damn. You guys sure know your stuff. It was the damn cable. I finally went out and purchased another firewire cable. I picked up one at Wal-Mart made by Belkin because on the front of it it says, "Apple FireWire and Sony i.LINK Compatible." Plug it in and turned my camera on to VCR mode and sure enough XP detected it automatically.

I'm so relieved. I immediately captured some of my footage in Windows Movie Maker just to fool around with it, adding audio tracks over it and what not. But after fooling around with it for only 5 minutes I could tell how terrible that program is. So I jumped into Adobe Premiere 6.5 and captured some of my footage with that. At first I was worried because immediately after I captured my footage I dragged some of it down into the "timeline" and tried to view it in the monitor, but it was extremely choppy, as if it skipped a ton of frames. I didn't really know how to go about fixing it, but when I closed Premiere and opened it back up and loaded the same footage again, it played perfectly. Any ideas as to what the problem was?

Also I have a pretty important question. Even though the footage now plays smoothly, I recognized those interlaced lines across the screen. They're not completely obvious, but I just happened to notice them cause I was looking for them. Now for the actual question, how do I go about de-interlacing my footage using Premiere? Is it complicated or is it as simple as finding it in the options and clicking a button?

Once again, you're help would be appreciated.

Frank, don't trust your computer screen if your target format is TV/VHS/DVD. Hook up your camera to a DV to preview it on a TV (most convert DV to analog on the fly). TVs show interlaced lines properly and computer monitors don't.

When you're starting out, I suggest that you double check your work on a TV. There are some video and audio issues that any TV will show while your computer will not.