Re: IEEE1394 / Firewire experiences.
- From: Guy Fawkes <davenull@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:10:56 -0700
On 20 Oct, 13:08, Guy Fawkes <daven...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just posting this as a FYI for those that may not be aware.
Having purchased a second hand sony handycam with usb/ firewaire and
video out, I set about capturing to computer.
The "main" computer is an old-ish but nevertheless no problems amd64
on abit job, wads of ram, wd raptor sata hard disk, good gfx card etc,
with no apparent issues, was running xp sp2.
1/ Downloaded the Sony software, installed on this computer (above)
and the dell inspiron 5160 laptop, have to say the sony software is
pretty rubbish, streaming is ok, probably much to do with the
limitations of usb. The "burn to cd" feature didn't work, at all, on
either computer.
2/ The abit mobo on the main computer unusually for abit did not have
onboard firewire, so I bought a PCI firewire card and 4 to 6 pin
firewire cable (4 pin on handycam, 6 pin on card... PS NEVER buy this
stuff from pissy world, it has about a 1000% markup)
3/ Got a copy of WInDV so I didn't just have to rely on windows movie
maker to capture from handycam via firewire.
4/ failure, everything works, but keep getting device disconnected
errors, good luck grabbing any clip longer than 30 seconds.
5/ tried other capture software, inc disabling ddrivers and loaded
dll's, no avail, same problems, start to worry if problem is newly
acquired second hand handycam
6/ reinstall virgin copy of xp sp2, rinse and repeat step 5
7/ install xp media centre edition, rinse and repeat step 5
8/ buy (for £3.18 in postage, not pissy world) 6 to 4 pin firewire
adapter, so now plug 4 pin handycam into 4 pin socket on rear of dell
laptop, instant success, grab 4 x 60 minute dv tapes full of separate
clips in sucession with zero issues or errors.
suspicions.
a/ I suspect the pci firewire card, eg I suspect its similarity to the
infamous winmodems, it didn't work at all when booted into linux.
b/ I suspect the amd command set customisations imposed on xp when
installing to a system with amd cpu as opposed to intel.
c/ I suspect not using an abit mobo with onboard firewire, the "spare"
abit intel mobo worked fine under both xpsp2 and media centre xp and
linux.
d/ I suspect that most firewire problems are down to manufacturers not
following the firewire spec diligently enough, or using workarounds,
or using proprietary hacks.
conclusions
the standard spec dell lappie is MORE that powerful enough to grab the
full resolution video via firewire with no hiccups, dropped frames or
other issues of any kind.
the "main" PC is quite happy processing, editing and burning said
files, when copied across the network, with sony vegas and dvd
software, no problems of any kind and able to benefit from amd 64 + 2
gig fast ddr + sata raptors.
this experience had the "feel" of one of those computer problems that
were not "a" problem as such, but rather two or three separate issues,
inconsequential in themselves, that when combined forced an issue of
some sort.
step 5 above included extensive googling, registry tweaking, firewire
speed configuration tweaks (see MS KB about this is SP 1 + 2 etc)
anything else I could think of and find.
having circumvented the problem I haven't actually definitively
identified the problem, however, hopefully it will inspire / help
others with apparently intractable semi random firewire issues to
persevere and perhaps start swapping out platforms to eliminate it,
instead of smashing the camcorder and computer in a fit of rage... lol
cheers
should also mention, tried hauppage and winfast tv cards, both failed
to capture properly, even though video signal from camera worked
perfectly on tv/ monitor... especially true with xp media centre which
was a mass of driver conflicts with the tv card software
.
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