DV Capture using Firewire Broken

[Steve Eisen]

First you need to make sure your deck is set to PAL if if has the option. DSR-11 has a switch on the back.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Board of Directors
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Mark Wooderson]

Hi Steve,
thanks for the response.
The camera’s and decks in question are all Pal. The inability of the mac pro to recognize the firewire decks / cameras seems to be a more system wide issue. Maybe a quicktime related error or a leopard bug.

[David Roth weiss]

Mark,

Try the following in precisely the order I’ve outline below:

1) close FCP
2) trash your preferences
3) turn off your VCR
4) restart FCP
5) turn on your VCR
6) choose the proper PAL East Setup
7) save the project
8) open the capture utility

Now, is the VCR recognised?

starting a new project using an Easy Setup

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Andy Mees]

Perhaps this knowledgebase document is relevant to your situation
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2678

[Rick Palidwor]

Is it possible that the firewire jack on the computer is fried? They seem to fry easily.
Rick

[Mark Wooderson]

Hi Andy,
I have tried the reinstall process documented here already. There is no change. I am kind of stumped. I have a workaround as in I can capture the material using component video and analogue audio through one of my multibridge systems, but I am frustrated that none of the computers in my building including any laptops can digitise DV Video via Firewire. It used to be the most simple and reliable means of capture and very useful when editing in the field with a laptop and now it doesn’t seem to work at all.

[Mark Wooderson]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the post, no luck unfortunately. The problem seems to be the same with all of my systems not just one.
Mark

[Mark Wooderson]

Thanks rick, but unless every firewire port in my building is fried I think it must be a software / quicktime issue

[Andy Mees]

Mark
You’ve tried multiple Mac’s, multiple cameras and decks (and multiple cables too I hope?) and nothing works … no camera or deck even recognized in System Profiler on any of the Macs? You got any proprietary or other software running on all your equipment that may be conflicting with your systems basic functioning? What specific combo of OS X and Quicktime are you using? Is it exactly the same on every Mac or are there variations?
Andy

[Mark Wooderson]

Hi Andy,
All the systems are on 10.5.5 and the latest version of Quicktime, I have tested this on 3 mac pros, 4 G5’s, 1 x macbook pro 17″, 2 x macbook, and an older powerbook G4 running and older version of the OS and Quicktime 7.3. All the firewire ports tested function perfectly if a disk drive is plugged in and I have checked the firewire Dv output of the camera I am using by Connecting it directly to the DV input of my DSR 45 deck. Everything is working independently, they just won’t talk to one another. The thing is I rarely work with firewire DV captures, our company has primarily been shooting on XDcam Variations for 2 years so things could have gone wrong a while ago and I wouldn’t have noticed.

Mark