I emailed this to JVC last week:

"I recently purchased a GY-HD100U (sn# 13030599) from B&H. After upgrading
my Avid Xpress Pro software to their latest HD version (which at this time only
supports 720p 29.97fps), I attempted to capture footage shot in HDV @ 720p
30fps. My computer is running Windows XP Pro w/SP2 (Pentium IV 3.4 Ghz,
2.5 Gigs DDR2 RAM, Quadro FX 1300 Graphics Card).
With the camera connected to the firewire port on the computer (either the on-board port on the Intel board or my after market NEC card) and the
camera's IEEE 1394 switch already in HDV position, I first turn on the computer, then turn on the camera. The computer won't recognize the camera. If, in any procedural order, I flip the IEEE 1394 switch on the camera to DV, the computer immediately recognizes the device. I've searched the Avid forums extensively with no luck. I've searched the Microsoft site with no luck (since, if the camera is working properly, the problem exists at the OS level). I can find nothing on the JVC site. Three owners of the Sony HDR-ZX1 experienced a similar problem, but they were able to at least get their computers to search for a driver for the device and manually assign
something they found that worked. At this point, I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed at the prospect of having to return the camera to B&H. Other than this one glitch (albeit, tremendous), I think this camera is an outstanding piece of equipment. So, can you tell me if this is a common occurrence involving the HD100U interfacing with Windows XP w/SP2; is this a common defect in the camera; is it an anomally with my camera?
I'd really appreciate a prompt response. Thanks."

What's more, I've tried brand new 6-pin cables, alternate firewire connections,
and alternate computers, including a Mac G5. The camera is not recognized when physically switched to HDV output. I've yet to hear from JVC (they don't have their holiday schedule posted). After emailing B&H, as to whether I should just return the camera, some bozo simply stated the problem was with Avid (?!) and I should purchase an alternative capture solution; he/she clearly doesn't understand my problem. Could this problem be resolved with access to the service menu in the camera? Could it just be a bad switch? Am I simply denying the fact I bought a lemon?

Harrison

Do you know for a fact that Avid supports JVC ProHD? To me this sounds like an Avid software compatibility issue more than anything else. I doubt that there's anything wrong with your camera except that Xpress Pro doesn't support it yet. Or does it? I'm wondering if that's been determined yet. Surely we have some HD100 owners here who are editing with Xpress Pro.

Yes. Avid Xpress Pro 5.2.1 supports the JVC @ 720p 30fps. There
are many success stories in the Avid forums. The problem is occuring
prior to Avid. Typically, when you connect something to your machine (USB, firewire, whatever), the machine will give you the little beep and the device's icon will appear in the lower right, or you're asked for the appropriate driver for the device. This doesn't occur with my camera. If plug the camera into the firewire port in HDV, nothing; with the camera still plugged in, if I swith to DV, Windows "beeps" and an icon of a camcorder appears; with camera still connected, I switch back to HDV, you get the "goodbye beep." I've tried every possible procedure. It's as if the camera's being shut off. I downloaded CapDVHS, just to insure there was a piece of software on the machine that was HDV ready (in the event Avid doesn't work with the camera at all); nothing; can't find a source.

Harrison

An HDV camera doesn't show up as a Camera capture device like a the DV mode does on a XP machine. Seems like Windows is not 100% ready for HDV.

Capture tools like AspectHd or DVRack does see the camera.

If you turn on the sound of your computer you must hear a short sound when you plug-in or out the firewire cable.

Also a cable does make a difference. I have a 20 meters long firewire cable from Unibrain which works perfect in DV mode. But on HDV mode I get no image through.

That doesn't sound like an Avid problem. From your description it seems that when you switch the camera to HDV the FW port gets switched off. I haven't tried it with the HD100 but I am on a dual Mac G5 and we captured footage from the Z1U and the port was recognised without problems. So I wonder if it's not a combination of settings of the HD100. Perhaps you need to activate another setting within the menu on top of the HDV/DV switch?

If the computer is recognizing the HD100 in DV mode but not in HDV mode then I'm tempted to believe that the problem is not with the camera's FireWire connection itself. Anybody else have any input?

Harrison, just to be clear since this is your first post here, it could take a day or two or three to get some solid feedback from HD100 owners on this board. We're popular, but not instantaneous.

Chris,
I understand. I'm impressed to see any response this quickly. Of the numerous forums out there, I've been the most impressed with the posts
here. Thanks.

Harrison

Harrison,

I have both the same JVC camera and the HDV deck (BR-HD50). Although the camera is not with me now at the office, I do have the deck handy and have noticed that when I turn the deck on I don't get an audible indication nor visual indication that the deck is available for use to digitize... (so I imagine it would be the same for the camera if set to HDV instead of DV). BUT when I run the "HD Link" capture utility provided with "Aspect HD" by Cineform, it does in fact see the deck in it's HDV setting and capture just fine.

Question:
Have you tried using any other application to digitize your footage? Perhaps you might try the free trial by Cineform - Aspect HD. http://www.cineform.com/

Let us know if that process works.

Daniel,

That's interesting to hear. I will try the cineform demo immediately.

Harrison

Is is most likely a Windows problem, followed by an Avid problem. Since the camera works in DV mode, I seriously doubt it's a camera problem.

Well, the fellow here that uses Premiere Pro is in a session all day, so
I can't try out the Aspect HD demo untill tomorrow morning. However, just to make certain, I ran the camera into the G5 again (running Final Cut 5.0.2); when camera's in DV mode, captures DV footage fine with responsive deck control; when HDV switched (within a new project with 720 30p settings), it can't establish communication with the deck/camera. And, of course, this is the case with my Xpress Pro HD. Even though it has presets for HDV 720 30p, does anyone know if Final Cut 5.0.2 does not support the GY-HD100U?

Harrison

I have successfully digitised 720P30 in both Avid and CapDVHS.

The only thing to be careful of is that the camera is in the correct HDV mode and that you are in VTR mode prior to connecting it to the computer.

I can't remember, but I'm fairly sure that even in hDV mode the camera must show up in your devices list as a Microsoft AV/C device. If this doesn't happen then I would seriously be suspecting the camera itself.

Well, the fellow here that uses Premiere Pro is in a session all day, so
I can't try out the Aspect HD demo untill tomorrow morning. However, just to make certain, I ran the camera into the G5 again (running Final Cut 5.0.2); when camera's in DV mode, captures DV footage fine with responsive deck control; when HDV switched (within a new project with 720 30p settings), it can't establish communication with the deck/camera. And, of course, this is the case with my Xpress Pro HD. Even though it has presets for HDV 720 30p, does anyone know if Final Cut 5.0.2 does not support the GY-HD100U?

Harrison

Confirm that the camera is in 720P30 mode first (in avid or fcp5). If the camera is in 720P24 or 720P25 the transport controls will be disabled. Avid and Apple only officially support 720P30 at the moment.
If you switch to DV and it works, then it suggests to me that your tape or camera are set to DV mode (not the switch position - I mean in the camera setup menu.)
Next, make sure you are in VTR mode on the camera, and not camera mode. You should see a red LED lit up on the top that says "VTR."

Yes, I've made sure it is in VTR mode prior to connecting to my machine. The blue HDV logo on the camera is illuminated. HDV-HD30P appears in the upper left of the LCD. The only footage on the tape (in the camera) was shot 720p 30. In the video format menu, while in VTR mode, Frame Rate is set to 60/30; I've tried HDV PB OUTPUT in 720P & Native (shouldn't matter anyway); PB TAPE set to HDV & AUTO, neither works. I just don't know. Avid, FCP, CapDVHS all claim "no deck," "can't find device," et cetera. I wish there were a simple step I'm carelessly overlooking.

Harrison,

Just out of curiosity, can you please download the free trial of HDVxDV on to your G5 and see if you can hit play and control the camera and digitize footage with it?

http://www.dvdxdv.com/HDVxDV.v1.024t.tar.gz

If it doesn't work either then there is something definitely wrong with your connection or camera. If it does work, then I would suggest running software update on the G5 and then reboot, turn camera on, and try FCP again.

Finally spoke to a JVC tech on Wednesday. They're picking the
camera up today and shipping it to Georgia. Incidentally, as a
last resort, the tech called back on the telephone and had me
reset the camera from the service menu; needless to say this
did nothing. I had suspected all they'd do at the repair center
is reset the thing, but this confirmed there exists a genuine defect.
As soon as it returns, I'll give an update.

Harrison

I am posting this on the two places where people have this so it may seem repetitive. What might have happened is that your firewire ports are actually dead. Firewire is NOT hot-swappable like they say it is, especially with a 6 pin lead, due to the six pin actively carrying a charge. When you plugged your camera in, you must have had the camera on, and it sent a small electrical short that fried a small jumper in the camera. I have seen this happen to many cameras here (Phoenix) more so because it is dry, and static charge is larger here, but I have seen it happen to XL-1, Xl-2, DVX, and a HD-100U. I have had to send a personal camera of mine in, due to this exact same thing.

Hope this helps.

On Wednesday of last week I spoke to a JVC Costumer Support tech named
"Larenzo" (sp?). After a lot of standard troubleshooting and reseting the camera, he came to the conclusion the camera is defective. He gave me a repair issue number and told me a call tag would arrive the following day to take the camera to their pro service center in Lawrenceville, GA (I am in Nashville, TN). Larenzo also told me the turnaround would probably be a day.
The camera is still here. Larenzo won't answer my voice messages.
I was able to get in touch with a gentlemen at the Georgia service center who told me the they did not issue call tags (for insurance purposes) and their average turn-around this time of year is two and a half to three weeks. They don't keep parts in Georgia; they're "overnighted" from New Jersey. The repair issue number I was given doesn't refer to anything, aside from a possible "urgency" tag. So in the mean time, I'll hunt down another camera or Pro HD deck for my post, go ahead with my shoots at the end of this month with my camera, then ship it to Georgia. I'm terribly disappointed with it all.

Peter

That's interesting. I'm certain my camera was off when I initially connected the 6-pin, as well as the computer, as directed on pages 54 & 56 in the owner's manual. In your case, did the manufacturer cover the repair?

Yea, but here is the ting. When they say "two day turn around" It means after they look at it, it gets sent off. It could be anywhere up to two weeks before they look at it. I had to harass them to get it. If you don't have a shoot scheduled, don't worry about it, if you do though, call and bother them.

Shot project @ 720 30p on Jan. 20 & 21; captured to Avid Xpress HD 5.2.1
through Mojo via component cables (actually looks alright). By shear coincidence, the day I was preparing to ship the camera to JVC service center in Georgia, I received a prepaid, FedEx overnight shipping tag to the service center in Pine Brook, New Jersey (just as well, as I understand Georgia has to order all their parts from New Jersey); specifically, Tony Rombola of JVC. I was originally told UPS would come pick it up, as mentioned in an earlier thread and now recieve this three weeks later. I ship it off on Jan. 23; recieved camera yesterday, Jan. 30. Out of the box, the
cassette door was partially open and would not shut until I powered up the camera (the camera was not shipped back in the same packing as I shipped it). Carefully, I switched the device to HDV, plugged the 6-pin into the computer, then the camera, powered it up, and Windows immediately recognizes it and load the drivers. I open CapDVHS, insert a tape with 720 30p footage, and instantly I'm capturing. I open up Avid, start 720 project, and all is working fine. After about 20 minutes, I notice that if I capture across cuts, the audio tends to drifts out of sync, speed up (changes pitch), and stutter. I shuttle back to cue up a shot (I was conciously trying to shuttle as little as possible) when suddenly the camera powers down. The camera will not power up at all now, either with battery or A.C. One of my tapes from the project I just shot is now stuck in the camera. When I connect the power cable to the camera, the red led on the battery charger
dims out. I spoke to "Eugene" at JVC Service Center in New Jersey; he says he thinks it is a blown fuse. He says UPS will pick up the camera today (Jan. 31) or tomorrow. While packing the camera, I noticed beneath the cassette mechanism housing, adjacent to the 6-pin port, a small portion of what looks like yellow ribbon cable is exposed, re-assembled improperly. JVC's replacement policy expires after 30 days. I contacted JVC through e-mail and spoke to a "Lorenzo" at JVC New Jersey well within 30 days of purchase (purchase date was12/12/05). I'm going to go ahead and ship the camera, but at this point I feel the camera needs to be replaced or I need to get my money back.
I'm losing money everyday. My clients aren't happy. I can't book any jobs. Can someone at JVC please respond.

Incidentally, the repair invoice stated services performed:

Lift Up Parts (Soldering)
Rewriting program
Self REC/PB level adjustment

Is it possible that the HDV port can blow and not the DV aspect of it?
If so I believe that this has happened to my HD100 also.

I can capture DV but not HDV.

I'l need to ship it off also.

Can you let me know how you got on.

Hi David,

This is a very old thread and Harrison hasn't posted anything on dvinfo in 14 months. Don't expect a response.

There are ways to confirm if your firewire port is blown.

Do you have access to another HD100 or BR-HD50 deck? The easiest thing to do to test the firewire port in plug a firewire cable into another camera, use HDV 1394 on both, put the 2nd camera in VTR mode, and see if you can transfer a signal.

If you don't have another camera, try using a low-level mpeg2 capture app like DVHSCap or HDVxDV (on Mac) or CapDVHS on XP. Do a fresh reboot and don't have any other apps running. See if you can first get deck control (camera must be in VTR mode) and then do a test capture.