Trouble capturing from Sony Handyman

[347Stroker]

The camcorder is a Sony DVD203 The computer is an HP with WinXP, AMD 64, 512mb, 200gb (if this matters)

The software that came with the camera does not detect the camera when I plug it in. I called Sony and they did not help me at all. There is a program that came with my computer called Intervideo WINDVD. It detects and plays the video from the camera, but does not let me do anything else with it. Windows Media Player also plays the video. The computer also came with Windows Movie Maker, but it says "a video capture device was not detected" I have downloaded several free video editing programs from the internet, but have not had luck with them either. Basically all I want to do is to be able to save my videos onto the computer so that I can upload them to the internet. This has been very frustrating. I have been messing with it for a few weeks. Does anybody have any advice?

Thanks Mike

[aedipuss]

windvd is strictly a media file PLAYER. period. if your camera has a firewire port and your computer does also, with the proper firewire cable you can capture the output with the free program WinDV allow for 13Gbs per tape of hard drive space. that will get the dv avi onto the computer, what you want to do with it from there will require encoding software.

[guns1inger]

There is a WinDVD Creator program which sometimes ships as a freebie (I know a lot of our laptops have it if they ship with a DVD Burner). It is a simple tool, not unlike Window Movie Maker, but able to produce a DVD at the end of the process.

[347Stroker]

The only ports on my camera are USB, remote, and AV. My computer has a WINDVD Creator, and WINDVD Player. All I want to do is be able to take the video from my camera and get it onto the internet using my computer. How do I go about this? Here is a link to my camera

http://www.shopcartusa.com/Product/dcrdvd203/Electronics~TV_Video~Camcorders/Sony_Hand.../?ic_campID=98

[guns1inger]

Silly, but seemingly obvious question : why can't you just put the DVD you recorded the footage on into your PC and work from there ? Why do you even need to connect the camera to the PC at all ?

[347Stroker]

I have tried that to and it does not work. How do I do it?

[guns1inger]

When you open the disc in your PC, what do you see ?

[347Stroker]

I don't understand your question

[guns1inger]

You take the DVD from the camera and put it in your PC's DVD drive. Then use Windows Explorer to browse the content of the DVD. What folders and files are on the DVD ?

[347Stroker]

I dont know what folders and files are on the DVD. I just recorded something real quick for practice, finalized it and put it in the computer.

[guns1inger]

Do you know how to use Windows at all ?

Open Windows Explorer by double-clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop. You should see your DVD drive as one of the drives being displayed. Double-click on it and it should should you what is on the disc in that drive.

[jmkeuning]

Did your camera come with the Picture Package software?

[jmkeuning]

Did you read page 89 of the manual?

"Connecting you camcorder to your computer - Introduction"

"Install the USB Driver before connecting the camcorder to your computer."

[347Stroker]

Do you know how to use Windows at all ?

Open Windows Explorer by double-clicking on the My Computer icon on the desktop. You should see your DVD drive as one of the drives being displayed. Double-click on it and it should should you what is on the disc in that drive.

Windows? Whats Windows? What a smartass.........

Everything that you have told me has been obvious. Of coarse I have read the manual. I guess im not a big enough dork to be on this forum, kinda figured that when I registered...a bunch of dorks trying to sound cool and try to make people with problems feel like idiots. I tried all of the things that you guys have said the first day I got the computer. Everytime I try something it does not work. If you guys are so smart you should know what problems I encounter when I try using certain methods/software. Go ahead and ban me from this gay site since I can tell im not going to get the help I need. Better off to just figure it out on my own.

You are in breach of the forum rules and are being issued with a formal warning. If you ask for help, at least try to be patient and show a little courtesy. While it can be frustrating, no one here has a crystal ball, so any 'obvious' answers or questions are down to you for not providing enough info.
/ Moderator offline

[JohnnyMalaria]

Please answer the questions below - sorry if some sound obvious....

The camcorder is a Sony DVD203 The computer is an HP with WinXP, AMD 64, 512mb, 200gb (if this matters)

The software that came with the camera does not detect the camera when I plug it in.

When you plug it in, does the computer make a 'ba-dip' sound? If it does, this means that the OS has at least recognized that something has been plugged in.

I assume you are connecting via the USB port. Is it USB 2.0? I think it needs to be. Also, it will depend on the Service Pack version of Windows XP. Which do you have?

There is a program that came with my computer called Intervideo WINDVD. It detects and plays the video from the camera, but does not let me do anything else with it.

So you finalized the DVD in the camcorder and then place it in the PC's DVD drive? i.e., the PC recognizes DVDs created by your camcorder.

The computer also came with Windows Movie Maker, but it says "a video capture device was not detected"

Movie Maker only works with DV devices. Your camcorder is not DV - it records using MPEG2.

Basically all I want to do is to be able to save my videos onto the computer so that I can upload them to the internet. This has been very frustrating. I have been messing with it for a few weeks. Does anybody have any advice?

From what you have described (if I understand correctly), you can record video onto DVD and play the DVD using the computer. But you can't get the computer to get video from the camcorder directly.

Since you can play the DVDs on your PC, you don't need to transfer from the camcorder in the traditional sense. All the files you need are on the DVD. If you look at a folder listing of the DVD, you should see a bunch of folders some of which contain files with .VOB suffix (at least, that would be my expectation). These .VOB files are the MPEG2 video files. You need software to allow you to edit/convert these .VOB files.

What software came bundled with the camcorder?

[jmkeuning]

If everything is so obvious, will you please tell us what guns1inger asked you - what do you see when you put the DVD in the PC? What is the folder and file structure?

As for trying everything that we suggested, if you really did this, you did not describe it very well. You say that Windows does not recognize the camera when you plug it in, but you do not say if you installed the drivers first.

It seems to me that if a Windows program (in your case WinDVD) is playing the disc while the disc is in the camera, then Windows is recognizing the camera, at least as a UMS drive or external DVD drive. If this is the case, and you cannot browse the DVD when it is in your PC drive, you should be able to navigate to the camera in your Explorer directory.

Fact is, I want to help you, but not for you, but for the next person who comes along and needs help. As your name says, you're a stroker.

[greymalkin]

go somewhere else if you're going to have that attitude. You have refused to do the simple steps asked of you (like tell us what files/folders are on the dvd when you put it in your computer) and my crystal ball is out of order right now.

If you think editing video's is dorky then why are you here? Coming to a videohelp site asking for help, then saying it's dorky because you either cannot grasp simple concepts or are too lazy to do so is counterproductive.