FS4 Driver for XP at DVinfo.net

Stefan Raupp · November 18th, 2005, 12:31 PM

Hi Guys

I want to use my FS4 on the PC as a RECORDER ( Not Harddrive )
but the FS4 in Recorder Mode is not recognized by the pc.
In my Systemmanager it is only seen as a yellow ?!

Weher can i get a driver to use it as a standard DV Device so that my NLE ( Avid Liquid ) can use it as a recorder ?

Thanks a lot for help

Stefan

Dan Euritt · November 18th, 2005, 02:17 PM

if you have the dv i/o port of the fs-4 plugged in to the pc firewire connection, the fs-4 won't be recognized by winxp, because there is no driver for it.

there might be some kind of a work around to do whatever it is that you want to do, tho.

Daniel Kohl · November 18th, 2005, 05:01 PM

Hallo Stefan,

It is hard to understand what you are attempting to do. Are you trying to record the DV stream from your PC to the FS-4?

If so, you shouldn't need to mount the FS-4 to your PC's system (in my opinion). But I'm guessing at this point. You have connecting the FW cable from the PC to the DV I/O on the FS-4 and tried recording to the FS-4 while it is in LOCAL mode right?

Maybe you can be more specific about what you mean by a recorder (not hard drive). Anything you record to the FS-4 will be to its HDD.

Stefan Raupp · November 20th, 2005, 08:26 AM

sorry guys, i was not specific enough.

Recorder Mode ( DV I/O )
Hard Drive Mode ( Computer I/O )

I want to use the FS4 as a DV Unit with the ful functional of a tapeless system
When i want to do a dump to tape on my NLE System it doesn`t work while the firestore is not recognized by WinXP ( Dan - you've got it )
The NLE System does not do a playout when the Recorder is not present.
I Tried to fix this problem with a XP AVC Driver but it doesnt work - get the Error 10 wich means the Unit can't get initialized.

I Want to do a presentation of my work with a beamer.
So put the material to firestore and with a dv to Component Converter to the beamer. That is for me the best possible way.

When i copy my work to the harddrive of the firestore the files are to large for the FAT32 System. So my Idea was a dump to tape from NLE and the firestore would split it by itself.

Hope i was clear enough to show my problem.

yesterday i had some troubles and the firestore didn't want to boot.
After about 20 Tries it booted an i made a Factory reset in the menue.
After that it booted without probs.
Is this a known error on your side ?

Daniel Kohl · November 20th, 2005, 12:21 PM

Hi Stefan,

Just to clear one thing up - "your side" implies that the other Dan, or I, have something to do with Focus (the maker of the FS-4) - this is not the case. Any suggestions or comments I make in this forum are in no way connected with Focus Enhancements. I'm pretty sure that that is the case for Dan Eurittas as well, or for anyone who doesn't have a signature or name tag with Focus Enhancements somewhere in it. So if you think there is something wrong with your FS-4 you should contact the retailer you got it from or Focus's technical support.

Personally, if your FS-4 doesn't boot again after 20 tries, I would recommend exchanging it with a new unit before the "Umtausch Frist" has ended, unless you get a good explanation from Focus as to why that may be happening. There seems to be a few units out there that don't work like they should. Maybe you have one of them.

As to your original question.

I don't think that you will be able to get the FS-4 to be recognized by any other device as a recorder / camcorder. Your NLE program wants to be able to control the recorder in order to make an edit to tape - this is not going to happen when you connect the FS-4 to your computer. There is no tape to jog and shuttel back and forth, no timecode to read (very frustraiting for a NLE program). It is like if you would connect a DVD recorder with i-link to your computer. The NLE program can send a DV stream over the FW cable but no other command information is acknowledged from the external device.

Therefor I would recommend that you try recording to the FS-4 in "assembly" mode - that is: push play for the timeline in the NLE program and the record key on the FS-4 in DIRECT rec. mode at the same time. This is down and dirty I know, but I don't think that there is any other way to use the FS-4 as a HDD recorder deck. If this works you should be able to play the clip back to your beamer using a D/A video converter. If you time it right, you should get a clean start of your edited material on the FS-4, and if you have a little black at the beginning of the recording you can navigate to the image you want to start beaming from pretty well using the FS-4 playback navigation keys.

I hope that this is a help.

Greusse aus FFM

Stefan Raupp · November 21st, 2005, 01:34 PM

hallo Daniel, geht auch auf Deutsch - Ich arbeite in Frankfurt.

In the DV Stream the Timecode is embedded.
You can verify this when you switch between the interneal or external DV Timicode Source in the FS4 Menue.

OK. The Hard way to record it is well known, i hopped there will be a "Smart Way" to use the firestore as e real HD DV Recorder. ( I'm working in the Broadcastsector and hoped to have the same features like other Disk Recorder)
It was a fault the FS4 is more on the "Toy Sector" - OK, a nice toy.

Thanks for the feedback

Grüsse in die Ebblerstadt - Stefan

November 18th, 2005, 12:31 PM	#1
Stefan Raupp New Boot Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rhein Main - Germany Posts: 7	FS4 Driver for XP Hi Guys I want to use my FS4 on the PC as a RECORDER ( Not Harddrive ) but the FS4 in Recorder Mode is not recognized by the pc. In my Systemmanager it is only seen as a yellow ?! Weher can i get a driver to use it as a standard DV Device so that my NLE ( Avid Liquid ) can use it as a recorder ? Thanks a lot for help Stefan

November 18th, 2005, 05:01 PM	#3
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Hallo Stefan, It is hard to understand what you are attempting to do. Are you trying to record the DV stream from your PC to the FS-4? If so, you shouldn't need to mount the FS-4 to your PC's system (in my opinion). But I'm guessing at this point. You have connecting the FW cable from the PC to the DV I/O on the FS-4 and tried recording to the FS-4 while it is in LOCAL mode right? Maybe you can be more specific about what you mean by a recorder (not hard drive). Anything you record to the FS-4 will be to its HDD. __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

November 20th, 2005, 12:21 PM	#5
Daniel Kohl Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 571	Hi Stefan, Just to clear one thing up - "your side" implies that the other Dan, or I, have something to do with Focus (the maker of the FS-4) - this is not the case. Any suggestions or comments I make in this forum are in no way connected with Focus Enhancements. I'm pretty sure that that is the case for Dan Eurittas as well, or for anyone who doesn't have a signature or name tag with Focus Enhancements somewhere in it. So if you think there is something wrong with your FS-4 you should contact the retailer you got it from or Focus's technical support. Personally, if your FS-4 doesn't boot again after 20 tries, I would recommend exchanging it with a new unit before the "Umtausch Frist" has ended, unless you get a good explanation from Focus as to why that may be happening. There seems to be a few units out there that don't work like they should. Maybe you have one of them. As to your original question. I don't think that you will be able to get the FS-4 to be recognized by any other device as a recorder / camcorder. Your NLE program wants to be able to control the recorder in order to make an edit to tape - this is not going to happen when you connect the FS-4 to your computer. There is no tape to jog and shuttel back and forth, no timecode to read (very frustraiting for a NLE program). It is like if you would connect a DVD recorder with i-link to your computer. The NLE program can send a DV stream over the FW cable but no other command information is acknowledged from the external device. Therefor I would recommend that you try recording to the FS-4 in "assembly" mode - that is: push play for the timeline in the NLE program and the record key on the FS-4 in DIRECT rec. mode at the same time. This is down and dirty I know, but I don't think that there is any other way to use the FS-4 as a HDD recorder deck. If this works you should be able to play the clip back to your beamer using a D/A video converter. If you time it right, you should get a clean start of your edited material on the FS-4, and if you have a little black at the beginning of the recording you can navigate to the image you want to start beaming from pretty well using the FS-4 playback navigation keys. I hope that this is a help. Greusse aus FFM __________________ Daniel Kohl Frankenstein meets XL1

November 18th, 2005, 02:17 PM	#2
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	if you have the dv i/o port of the fs-4 plugged in to the pc firewire connection, the fs-4 won't be recognized by winxp, because there is no driver for it. there might be some kind of a work around to do whatever it is that you want to do, tho.

November 20th, 2005, 08:26 AM	#4
Stefan Raupp New Boot Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rhein Main - Germany Posts: 7	sorry guys, i was not specific enough. Recorder Mode ( DV I/O ) Hard Drive Mode ( Computer I/O ) I want to use the FS4 as a DV Unit with the ful functional of a tapeless system When i want to do a dump to tape on my NLE System it doesn`t work while the firestore is not recognized by WinXP ( Dan - you've got it ) The NLE System does not do a playout when the Recorder is not present. I Tried to fix this problem with a XP AVC Driver but it doesnt work - get the Error 10 wich means the Unit can't get initialized. I Want to do a presentation of my work with a beamer. So put the material to firestore and with a dv to Component Converter to the beamer. That is for me the best possible way. When i copy my work to the harddrive of the firestore the files are to large for the FAT32 System. So my Idea was a dump to tape from NLE and the firestore would split it by itself. Hope i was clear enough to show my problem. yesterday i had some troubles and the firestore didn't want to boot. After about 20 Tries it booted an i made a Factory reset in the menue. After that it booted without probs. Is this a known error on your side ?

November 21st, 2005, 01:34 PM	#6
Stefan Raupp New Boot Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rhein Main - Germany Posts: 7	hallo Daniel, geht auch auf Deutsch - Ich arbeite in Frankfurt. In the DV Stream the Timecode is embedded. You can verify this when you switch between the interneal or external DV Timicode Source in the FS4 Menue. OK. The Hard way to record it is well known, i hopped there will be a "Smart Way" to use the firestore as e real HD DV Recorder. ( I'm working in the Broadcastsector and hoped to have the same features like other Disk Recorder) It was a fault the FS4 is more on the "Toy Sector" - OK, a nice toy. Thanks for the feedback Grüsse in die Ebblerstadt - Stefan