Firewire problem when trying to capture DV
- Thread starter Devon Steve
- Start date
Devon Steve
New Member
Yeah i thought it should be plug n play. It may be that my cam has a really early version of firewire connectivity. I think a friend of mine has the same laptop as me so I may ask him if I can hook up to his. Just gutted that even with the 1394 listed in device manager it still isnt working. Ill see if i can catch up with my mate at the weekend. He may even have a firewire device I can try on my laptop so I can eliminate things in a logical order.
Devon Steve
New Member
Not sure Id be able to find a firmware update for the camera as the camera is over 5 years old. Would it be Sony i could get a firmware update from?
Devon Steve
New Member
Been having a look mate, and doesnt look like there is any support for my cam now. Ill have to try my mates laptop and if that dont work ill have to give up :-( Dont wanna take any more of your time, but feel free to keep digging if you like a challenge 
. Ill put up another message after I try out my mate. Cheers bud.
. Ill put up another message after I try out my mate. Cheers bud.Devon Steve
New Member
Hi mate. Couldnt get hold of my mate but then remembered our dvd/hdd recorder under the telly might have a dv point as its quite new. It does but it is marked 'dv' not IEEE 1394 as I thought it would be. Its all academic anyway as it still didnt work. Tried a different capture software on the laptop (Roxio) That makes me think its the cam or lead now. Only way to find out for sure is buy another lead :-(
Another, more expensive test would be to purchase an external hard drive with a Firewire interface (not just USB). It seems that the port on your computer is running fine though and that the issue lies with the camera or the cable. But, the drive would help verify that the Firewire port is indeed working.
Devon Steve
New Member
Yeah thought about that mate and would have bought a firewire drive but I already have 3 and their all usb :-( Dont think there is any gadgets I need that need firewire. Might take my cam into a computer store and say i wanna buy a laptop but i need to try out my camera on it first. That will prove that it is cam/ lead prob. Never know they might break out a new cable to eliminate that. Bit sneaky though lol
Good call! That's not a bad idea actually. You wouldn't have to be sneaky about it though. Just bring your camera along and ask an associate if you can try plugging it in to another laptop and bring up Movie Maker. Most decent stores can help you out in this regard.You just want to make sure it works. After all....you could propose looking at a new camera if this one isn't working... I'm sure they would be glad to help you.
Devon Steve
New Member
Not sure what to do about this now. Went to one of the large retail stores and got access to a Sony Vaio laptop. Plugged my cam in but nothing. Tried turning on then plugging in. Tried plugging in and then turning on. Tried both of these, opening Windows movie maker first, then secondly, but nothing. The guy as usual didnt have a clue and said that you need to have a program like Pinnicle installed before it would be recognised anyway. this was just a cop out though because it shoild be a plug and play device that window movie maker should recognise. The very least i should be getting after plugging in the cam is a box stating' new hardware found what would I like to do?' open in new folder etc. So stuck again :-(
I'm pretty sure the problem is with your camera then. Either the Firwire port on it needs to be enabled, it will only work in a certain mode (playback only/when plugged in, not on battery), or the port is dead on your camera. I'm leaning towards the latter since the DV cameras I have used work fine under any power and either live or in playback.