XHA1s HDV Output Not Recognized by Computer

[Ed Hogarty]

Hi all -

I've been using a pair of Canon XHA1 cameras for a few years now. Using the firewire output on the cameras, I capture to Adobe OnLocation CS4, either in DV mode and HDV mode, depending on the project. It's always worked pretty smoothly.

Recently, I picked up two XHA1s cameras and inserted them into the same workflow. Capturing the DV signal from of the firewire output works just fine, but OnLocation will not recognize the HDV signal. Actually, I don't think the computer itself is recognizing the signal, because I don't get the pop-up box saying that the camera has been attached like I do when I plug it in when it's set to DV.

I am having the same problem with both cameras, and I've tried plugging them into several different Windows machines, some running XP (Service Pack 3) and others running Windows 7 Professional. It's the same behavior on all machines.

Is there a setting in the menu system somewhere that I'm missing? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Ed

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Ed, check these menu settings with the camera set to VCR / Playback mode:

Menu > Signal Setup > Playback Std >

Be sure it is *not* set to DV. It needs to be in Auto or HDV. Also, in VCR / Playback mode:

Menu > Signal Setup > HD DownConv >

Make certain that this is set to Off.

[Ed Hogarty]

Thanks, Chris.

I just checked, and both of these settings are greyed out - I cannot choose them. They currently read:

PLAYBACK STD ---

HD DOWN-CONV ---

I've put the camera into both HDV mode and SD mode, and they're greyed out either way.

Ed

[Ed Hogarty]

Ok, just figured out that I need to disconnect the firewire cable to gain access to those settings. HD DOWN-CONV is set to Off, and I've tried PLAYBACK STD at both Auto and HDV, but I still have the same problem - no signal for HDV.

Ed

[Chris Hurd]

You need to rule out the possibility of a blown FireWire port. Following the procedures described on page 106 of the operator's manual, are you able to record from one camera to the other, thereby copying some pre-recorded HDV material? Try it in both directions, to make sure that the FireWire jacks are indeed sending video out of both cameras.

[Ed Hogarty]

Thanks, I will give that a try tomorrow.

Ed

[Ed Hogarty]

It took me a little longer to get to this than I thought it would.

This seemed to work fine. First, I recorded some HDV material to tape using the first XHA1s. Then I put both cameras in VCR mode, connected them with a firewire cable, and played back the tape on camera 1, recording on camera 2 to a blank tape. No problem. When I played back the newly recorded tape on camera 2, it was just fine. I then reversed the process and played back the original tape on camera 2 and recorded it on camera 1. Again, no problems.

So, assuming I did this correctly, the problem is not with the firewire ports on the cameras (at least when they're in VCR mode). Any reason why they would work properly in VCR mode, but not in any of the camera modes?

Ed

[Ed Hogarty]

Just wanted to update this thread: HD output from both cameras is now recognized by all machines. I work at a corporation that uses SecureWave peripheral security software on all its computers - including the video workstations, unfortunately. This disables the USB and Firewire ports, as well as the optical drive, to prevent copying of proprietary information. Permissions can be granted on a machine-by-machine, peripheral-by-peripheral basis. Never had cameras affected by this, but apparently, that was the problem. They were added to the database and they work fine now.

Ed

[Chris Hurd]

Glad this had a happy ending for you, Ed -- thanks for reporting back!