FCP capture w Canon Vixia HV30

[Steve Yu]

Is iMovie launching automatically when the HV30 is plugged in? If so maybe you need to disable this option so that iMovie isn’t reserving the firewire input.

If this isn’t the case, you might try the following:

1) Connect the HV30 to your Mac Pro
2) Press play on the camera (with a tape with timecode) to ensure the playback mode is HD, then stop the tape
3) Go to Easy Setup and select your input device settings — I would choose HDV.
4) Press Command 8 (or choose Log and Capture).

It should work, so I’m not sure why it isn’t showing up for you… (I have 4 HV20s and have used them as decks on two different Mac Pros.

Good luck!

[Richard Chenoweth]

Hmmmm…. thanks Steve!

When at the beginning of the tape it displays that it’s plugged in and
indicates HDV/DV.

When I playback for a few seconds, it indicates DV-OUT instead.

I recorded this tape in HDV but at the very end I used it to dub from a VHS player
which kicked it into DV mode…

Did I mess up tape? Can’t figure out how to get it to HDV-OUT instead…

Thx!

[Richard Chenoweth]

Hi Steve,

Thanks, it works now!! It had been set on DV-OUT. I realized I could not change it back without
first unplugging the HDV/DV-OUT cord. Switched it to HDV-OUT and now L&C grabs it…

Thx again,

Rich

[Steve Yu]

I’m not sure my input helped, but I’m glad you got it working!

FCP is a bit picky with the HV20/HV30 – the camera may think it’s in DV playback mode if you’ve played some DV footage in it the last time you powered on, so Log and Capture won’t like it if it’s expecting HDV, and vice versa.

After a while you’ll get a hang of the quirks!

I’ve had a bunch of similar issues with the Voice Over tool and my INSPIRE pre-amp. I’ve found that if I switch the payback frequency between 44khz and 48khz the mic sometimes comes on magically. (just a random note)

Have fun!

[David Naugle]

Damn. Unplugging is definitely the key.

[Kyrl Henderson]

Thanks for the method on getting my HV20 recognized. It works!

I am currently having problems with my HV20 playing back clips which are :02 and less long. Every time i put in a tape it will no longer capture longer segments. Any ideas?

thanks

[Liane Hunter]

I have a Canon Vixia HV30 and I am trying to connect it to FCP 7 using a Firewire 400 cable. Neither FCP or iMovie will recognize the camera. I set the FCP settings to:

Sequence Preset: HDV – 1080i60
Capture Preset: HDV
Device Control Preset: HDV Firewire
Video Playback: None
Audio Playback: Default

When I plug my camera into the computer, nothing happens on the camera screen. Is the camera supposed to acknowledge that it is plugged into a computer? Are there camera settings I need to change in order to connect?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Richard Chenoweth]

Make sure the camera is set for playback in “HDV” (not DV). Also, make sure camera is on. It sounds like your Easy Settings in FCP are correct, although I only have FCP6.

I’ve had issues in FCP (something I’ve overlooked) but iMovie ususally recognizes the camera immediately
with no problems.

Richard

[Marianne Souliez]

Hi Richard,

I have the same settings as the person who asked that question, and I have put HDV in the playback but FCP still does not recognize the camera.
Thank you for your help, if you have any idea!

Marianne

[Richard Chenoweth]

Hi Marianne,

When you are in FCP6 (6 is what I have) make sure the Audio/Video Settings are: HDV-1080i60/HDV/HDV Firewire Basic for the first three settings.

Disconnect Canon Camera from computer and make sure it’s “output” says HDV (not DV).

Then plug back in and turn it on.

Check System Monitor to make sure your computer shows that a Canon Camera is connected through Firewire.

Go back into FCP and “Command-8” to launch the Log & Capture. It should see it… it got frustrating for me, too, but it’ll work…

Rich