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capture dv w/out timecode, using device controlled camcorder??? SOS ASAP!
Hi all –
new here, be gentle!
I’m having a real problem trying to capture some DV tapes that for some reason don’t have a timecode. I’m using a Panasonic PV-GS200 camcorder through firewire into Final Cut Express. Of course, I go to Capture Now… but when I do, it just sits there blankly and says, “Waiting for Timecode.” So the problem is that it wants a timecode because my camcorder is “Device Control” enabled. Unfortunately, I can’t turn that off on the camcorder (or if I can, I can’t figure out how), so I’m stuck.
What sucks even worse is that before I click Capture Now, the feed actually displays on the “in/out set-up” viewer that pops up when you go to File > Capture.
I need this footage ASAP! please save me! any suggestions?
thanks,
Ty -
4 Replies
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You are going to have to set the FW device to UNCONTROLLED DEVICE and manually press play on the camera, THEN capture now.
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[Shane Ross] “You are going to have to set the FW device to UNCONTROLLED DEVICE and manually press play on the camera, THEN capture now.”
I don’t think FCExpress HAS an “uncontrolled device” setting.
My next question is HOW can there be a DV tape “without timecode”?
TC is part of the format. I doubt that these tapes were recorded on a “DVCAM” camcorder with the TC generator left in the “wrong position” (but that COULD explain the missing TC).My best guess is that the tapes were recorded on a camcorder with heads are not in exact alignment with the camcorder used for capture (or the capture camcorder is the one that is “misaligned”).
This can cause the TC to be partly (or fully) unreadable.Another reason could be that the DV tapes were recorded in “LP speed” (which is nearly always a “disaster waiting to happen”).
The best hope, in any case, is to get the camcorder that SHOT the tapes and capture with THAT unit into FCEx.
Another workaround is to connect two camcorders together via FireWire and make a complete COPY of the tape(s) that don’t play TC to a NEW tape.
The new copy WILL have its own Timecode and you would be able to capture from the copy. -
Thanks for all the help everyone…
Matte –
I believe you’re right about FC Express and not being able to turn off Device Control, because that was my first instinct – and I searched all through the Help files to figure out how to do it, but came up empty-handed. How is it done in Pro? Unfortunately, I have to use Express because my University (which shall remain anonymous) is too cheap to get Pro (grrr)…
Also, I have no idea why the tapes have no timecode… they were recorded on a different camera than mine by people I have never met, so anything is a possibility. All I know is that I have the Remaining Time to go by on my camera, but the TC is always at 0h00m00s00t. I am using the tapes for footage in a short documentary.
Do you think there might be a way to manually turn off Device Control either on the camera itself, or perhaps even in OS X? Copying the tapes is a great idea, but hard for me, because I only have one camera at the moment. And finding the original camera is pretty much not possible, unfortunately.
Is there another program that I could use to capture footage to my hard drive, then import it into FCEx? Any suggestions?
Thanks again for the help
Tyler
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[Tyler] “Do you think there might be a way to manually turn off Device Control either on the camera itself, or perhaps even in OS X?”
No.
Its not a camera or OSX setting.
Its a FCEx setting and requirement.My best advice to you to SOLVE this (and this comes from many decades of production experience) is to BORROW another DV camcorder and COPY the tapes.
You can choose ANY properly-operating inexpensive home-video DV camcorder with FW.
It will work just fine for your transfer, and give you FULL QUALITY with NO generation-loss (that’s the beauty of FW and DV).The copy process WILL correct your TC problems and allow you to properly capture and use your tapes.
Anything else you try will most likely waste a lot of time and effort, and gain you very little.
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