Not seeing external device! HELP!!! at DVinfo.net

Shane Coburn · May 28th, 2006, 11:44 AM

My computer cannot detect my camera this morning. Last night I captured footage just fine, so I don't know what the problem is. Out of the twenty or so times I restarted the computer and plugged the firewire cable back in, it did see the camera twice. However, it said that capturing could not be enabled. Now it won't see the camera at all...again.

I tried deleting the QT receipts and reinstalling 7.01, per the Sticky above, but it did not help the problem. I have also tried two different firewire cables.

Here is my set-up: 1 GHz PowerBook G4, OS X 10.3.9, FCP HD, Sony PD-170. I am not using an external drive. I am starting the computer, then turning on the camera to VCR mode, then launching FCP. I have also tried turning the camera on before restarting it.

Any ideas on what else to try? None of the Apple Stores around here support FCP and I am on deadline for a commerical. Please HELP!!!

Boyd Ostroff · May 28th, 2006, 12:02 PM

Do other firewire devices work OK?

Couple possibilities... one would be a blown port on your PD-170 :-(

What version of FCP do you have? "FCP HD" implies 4.5 to me. Versions of FCP 4.x have issues with QT 7 I know. I have the same powerbook you do, also with 10.3.9. Last year I did a lot of editing while on the road using FCP 4.5 but I made it a point not to upgrade to QT7 which was pretty new at the time. Some of these issues have been resolved, but I think others have not, depending on your model of computer, software configuation and phase of the moon.

I would try downgrading to QT6 if you're on FCP 4.5 and are sure there isn't a firewire port problem on either the camera or computer. Try hooking your camera up to another camera with a 4 pin cable and see if you can capture, then try connecting the other camera to your computer and see if you can capture from it.

Let us know how it works out for you...

Nate Schmidt · May 28th, 2006, 12:10 PM

Something to try is see if you can make the camera work with iMovie, it may not be the best solution, but if you can capture in iMovie and then import into fcp that will at least get the job done.

Shane Coburn · May 28th, 2006, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Do other firewire devices work OK?

Couple possibilities... one would be a blown port on your PD-170 :-(

What version of FCP do you have? "FCP HD" implies 4.5 to me. Versions of FCP 4.x have issues with QT 7 I know. I have the same powerbook you do, also with 10.3.9. Last year I did a lot of editing while on the road using FCP 4.5 but I made it a point not to upgrade to QT7 which was pretty new at the time. Some of these issues have been resolved, but I think others have not, depending on your model of computer, software configuation and phase of the moon.

I would try downgrading to QT6 if you're on FCP 4.5 and are sure there isn't a firewire port problem on either the camera or computer. Try hooking your camera up to another camera with a 4 pin cable and see if you can capture, then try connecting the other camera to your computer and see if you can capture from it.

Let us know how it works out for you...

Boyd -

Yes, I'm using FCP 4.5.

I just plugged my iPod into the firwire port and while the iPod seems to know it is hooked into something, it does not launch iTunes. Crap. Does this mean I have a blown firewire port on my computer? Can I do anything short of sending it in for service? I have to have this commercial done by Wednesday the latest.

Boyd Ostroff · May 28th, 2006, 12:47 PM

Sure, you could get a firewire PC card. I bought one last year for about $30 at Best Buy. Just read the box to see if it's MacOSX compatible. I'd give you the model number, but I just moved and can't find anything in this mess ;-) But you don't need the more expensive FW800 cards, just FireWire 400 Cardbus.

Even if this doesn't fix the problem it should be a cheap way to troubleshoot. And I got mine so I could keep my external drive and camera on separate buses.

Shane Coburn · May 28th, 2006, 02:43 PM

OK, so I used my roommates iBook to capture the clips in iMovie (thanks for the advice Nate). I didn't see any capture preferences relevant to quality/type, so I am assuming iMovie (she has iMovie HD) has just one setting.

The clips imported as .dv files, which I am hoping are maximum quality. The files sizes are big, so I feel pretty confident. I figured I'd just burn the clips to a DVD and then open them on my computer, but before I did, I restarted my computer (AGAIN), and started hers up as a firewire drive to see if I could do a quick transfer. And guess what?...My defunct firewire port decided to work. Great. So then I transfered all of the .dv files to my computer. However, on her computer the files automatically open in QT, while on my cmputer the same files do not have a QT thumbnail icon and launch iMovie when I try to open them. When iMovie launches, there is no clip. I dropped one of the individual files in to my QT alias and got it to launch, where I then saved as an "all inclusive" movie and got a .mov out of it. (Finally getting somewhere). My question is, through capturing as a .dv in iMovie and then having to resave the files as "all inclusive" .mov files in QT, have I lost any quality or resolution? If so, is there a better way to do this?

Boyd Ostroff · May 28th, 2006, 02:51 PM

iMovie uses DV Stream files which are different from the native FCP Quicktime files. You will need to drop them onto the timeline and render, or else convert them with QuickTime pro... one reason why it's a pain to capture in iMovie if you're using FCP :-)

If you're firewire port is good then I'd look to some problems between QT7 and FCP 4.5 as mentioned above...

Shane Coburn · May 28th, 2006, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

iMovie uses DV Stream files which are different from the native FCP Quicktime files. You will need to drop them onto the timeline and render, or else convert them with QuickTime pro... one reason why it's a pain to capture in iMovie if you're using FCP :-)

If you're firewire port is good then I'd look to some problems between QT7 and FCP 4.5 as mentioned above...

I am dropping them into QT Player, where they open, and then I can save them as a .mov. Will this do the job, or do I need QT Pro for another step?

Nate Schmidt · May 28th, 2006, 08:15 PM

Shane you should be able to drop the iMovie clips directly into FCP and only the audio should have to render which leads me to believe that the video is of high quality. You may be able to save them as a .mov file but you might have to go to file export and choose NTSC DV 48Khz and all that fun stuff ;-)

Shane Coburn · May 30th, 2006, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Schmidt

Shane you should be able to drop the iMovie clips directly into FCP and only the audio should have to render which leads me to believe that the video is of high quality. You may be able to save them as a .mov file but you might have to go to file export and choose NTSC DV 48Khz and all that fun stuff ;-)

I just dropped the .dv files on the QT alias in my dock, and after they opened saved them as .mov. I did have to render the audio in FCP like you said, though.

Les Wilson · June 3rd, 2006, 06:05 AM

iMovie imports video the same quality as FCP. However, it assembles it together with the audio differently. PC systems assemble it into AVI files etc

Each Mac can have a different program associated with a given file type. If you want those files to open automatically with Quicktime, select the files and select File-> Get Info. In the Open With Drop down box, select QuickTime Player

Another approach is to rename them .DV which is probably already associated to the QTP.

Any way you cut it, the iMovie files will come right into FCP where you can edit to your heart's content.

May 28th, 2006, 11:44 AM	#1
Shane Coburn Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 95	Not seeing external device! HELP!!! My computer cannot detect my camera this morning. Last night I captured footage just fine, so I don't know what the problem is. Out of the twenty or so times I restarted the computer and plugged the firewire cable back in, it did see the camera twice. However, it said that capturing could not be enabled. Now it won't see the camera at all...again. I tried deleting the QT receipts and reinstalling 7.01, per the Sticky above, but it did not help the problem. I have also tried two different firewire cables. Here is my set-up: 1 GHz PowerBook G4, OS X 10.3.9, FCP HD, Sony PD-170. I am not using an external drive. I am starting the computer, then turning on the camera to VCR mode, then launching FCP. I have also tried turning the camera on before restarting it. Any ideas on what else to try? None of the Apple Stores around here support FCP and I am on deadline for a commerical. Please HELP!!!

May 28th, 2006, 12:10 PM	#3
Nate Schmidt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Welland ON Posts: 515	Something to try is see if you can make the camera work with iMovie, it may not be the best solution, but if you can capture in iMovie and then import into fcp that will at least get the job done. __________________ "We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

May 28th, 2006, 08:15 PM	#9
Nate Schmidt Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Welland ON Posts: 515	Shane you should be able to drop the iMovie clips directly into FCP and only the audio should have to render which leads me to believe that the video is of high quality. You may be able to save them as a .mov file but you might have to go to file export and choose NTSC DV 48Khz and all that fun stuff ;-) __________________ "We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

May 28th, 2006, 12:02 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Do other firewire devices work OK? Couple possibilities... one would be a blown port on your PD-170 :-( What version of FCP do you have? "FCP HD" implies 4.5 to me. Versions of FCP 4.x have issues with QT 7 I know. I have the same powerbook you do, also with 10.3.9. Last year I did a lot of editing while on the road using FCP 4.5 but I made it a point not to upgrade to QT7 which was pretty new at the time. Some of these issues have been resolved, but I think others have not, depending on your model of computer, software configuation and phase of the moon. I would try downgrading to QT6 if you're on FCP 4.5 and are sure there isn't a firewire port problem on either the camera or computer. Try hooking your camera up to another camera with a 4 pin cable and see if you can capture, then try connecting the other camera to your computer and see if you can capture from it. Let us know how it works out for you...

May 28th, 2006, 12:47 PM	#5
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Sure, you could get a firewire PC card. I bought one last year for about $30 at Best Buy. Just read the box to see if it's MacOSX compatible. I'd give you the model number, but I just moved and can't find anything in this mess ;-) But you don't need the more expensive FW800 cards, just FireWire 400 Cardbus. Even if this doesn't fix the problem it should be a cheap way to troubleshoot. And I got mine so I could keep my external drive and camera on separate buses.

May 28th, 2006, 02:43 PM	#6
Shane Coburn Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 95	OK, so I used my roommates iBook to capture the clips in iMovie (thanks for the advice Nate). I didn't see any capture preferences relevant to quality/type, so I am assuming iMovie (she has iMovie HD) has just one setting. The clips imported as .dv files, which I am hoping are maximum quality. The files sizes are big, so I feel pretty confident. I figured I'd just burn the clips to a DVD and then open them on my computer, but before I did, I restarted my computer (AGAIN), and started hers up as a firewire drive to see if I could do a quick transfer. And guess what?...My defunct firewire port decided to work. Great. So then I transfered all of the .dv files to my computer. However, on her computer the files automatically open in QT, while on my cmputer the same files do not have a QT thumbnail icon and launch iMovie when I try to open them. When iMovie launches, there is no clip. I dropped one of the individual files in to my QT alias and got it to launch, where I then saved as an "all inclusive" movie and got a .mov out of it. (Finally getting somewhere). My question is, through capturing as a .dv in iMovie and then having to resave the files as "all inclusive" .mov files in QT, have I lost any quality or resolution? If so, is there a better way to do this?

May 28th, 2006, 02:51 PM	#7
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	iMovie uses DV Stream files which are different from the native FCP Quicktime files. You will need to drop them onto the timeline and render, or else convert them with QuickTime pro... one reason why it's a pain to capture in iMovie if you're using FCP :-) If you're firewire port is good then I'd look to some problems between QT7 and FCP 4.5 as mentioned above...

June 3rd, 2006, 06:05 AM	#11
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	iMovie imports video the same quality as FCP. However, it assembles it together with the audio differently. PC systems assemble it into AVI files etc Each Mac can have a different program associated with a given file type. If you want those files to open automatically with Quicktime, select the files and select File-> Get Info. In the Open With Drop down box, select QuickTime Player Another approach is to rename them .DV which is probably already associated to the QTP. Any way you cut it, the iMovie files will come right into FCP where you can edit to your heart's content.