Vista/PD 150 communication issue

[kayaker]

Hello all. I recently purchased a Sony DSR PD-150 for work, and attempted to set it up to use with my Vista Home Premium OS, and Windows Movie Maker, with a 4 pin to 4 pin Firewire but the Video Install Wizard has disappeared and the computer will not recognize the camcorder. I have tried many fixes, including speaking to both Microsoft and Sony, without success. Interestingly, when I plug it into my old laptop with Window XP, it is recognized right away and the video install wizard immediately runs. Do any of you have any idea what is going on? The posts on the Internet seem to allude to a basic problem with Vista, and a techie I know says Sony did not make a driver compatible with Vista. Meanwhile I am stuck with a good camcorder which does not work with my system.

[aedipuss]

vista hides icons when not active by default. as a firewire device it doesnt' really need a driver. try using winDV to access the cam. first make sure the cam's firewire output section is set to DV not DVCAM and the cam is on in playback mode. connect the firewire cable to cam and computer. start playing a DVavi tape. then start winDV and see if it finds the cam.

[aedipuss]

that assumes a new cam. if this is a used one(as they are no longer made) then it is possible the cam has a fried ilink(firewire) port.

[kayaker]

Aedipuss, thanks for your quick reply and advice. In fact the camcorder is old (used but very low hours) and works just fine on an old Windows XP system where it is immediately recognized and the Windows Import Wizard starts right away. It is with my Vista system where it is not recognized at all. I did try your procedure and unfortunately it did not work. I do not think the firewire port is fried as it appears to work with the old Windows XP system, but is there a way to test it? You will please forgive me but I am new to camcorders and I do not know how to change the DV output. I did go to Menu>vcr>A/V DV OUT>ON, which I hope was the procedure but I am not sure.

[aedipuss]

the cam port is fine if it works with winxp and you can capture there. the only thing i can think of is to check in the vista computer/device manager to make sure the ieee 1394 bus host controller is listed and working. and if there is a firewire port in the back of the computer make sure to try that, as sometimes the wires to the front panel get disconnected.

[kayaker]

Well Aedipuss, I think we've probably exhausted it. Only one 1394 port on the laptop. When I plug in I can hear the little sound my computer makes when it receives a device, but no wizard pops up and the camcorder is not recognized. It just drives me nuts because I suspect that its some little setting somewhere that needs to be changed. However, apparently its an issue that affects some but not all vista users. Sony says its Micosoft's fault and of course you can guess what Microsoft says. Thanks anyway for your patience and ideas.

[aedipuss]

on vista and win7 not getting a wizard is normal. whenever i plug in any DV cam there is no notification at all. no popup, no noise, no ding, no icon in the sys tray. that's how it's supposed to work after the first time a DV device is plugged in. the first time you might have gotten a driver install notice but after that there will be nothing.

try it again. turn on the cam put it in play mode then plug in the firewire cable. start winDV. if the cam is accessible it will be listed as "Microsoft DV camera and VCR" not by name. tell winDV where to capture on your hard drive and click capture and see if it works.

[kayaker]

I tried it again as above, Aedipuss, but there was no change. I recall the first time I tried the capture with winDV it found Microsoft DV camera and VCR, but stupidly I scrolled in the video source box and that designation disappeared, to be replaced by Google Camera Adaptor and Laptop Integrated Webcam 1; neither work to capture and I cannot figure out how to get it back to Microsoft DV camera.

[aedipuss]

one last thing as it's connected and recognized just not available. hook it up as before but before starting winDV start playing a tape. then see if the ms DV cam becomes available. and look in "devices and printers" to see if it's listed.

something seems to be grabbing the firewire signal before windv can find it. what other video editing type software do you have installed? maybe check what's in the task manager processes while the tape is playing.

[kayaker]

Aedipuss, no luck with the above. Its listed in "devices Manager as an unknown device operating on the 1394 port. No listing of any software or process in the task manager other than the WinDV. I think its a lost cause.

[edDV]

Aedipuss, no luck with the above. Its listed in "devices Manager as an unknown device operating on the 1394 port. No listing of any software or process in the task manager other than the WinDV. I think its a lost cause.

I have a PD-150 and it works fine with Vista. Your problem is the Vista IEEE-1394 port is not working. First step is check that the IEEE-1394 Bus host controller shows in device manager and properties show "This device is working properly". Make sure Windows update is current including Direct X.

Next to try is yank the card if the port is on a card, then restart the computer without the port card then shut down and insert the card. See if the driver detects it. If the port is on the motherboard, you may need to uninstall and reinstall the motherboard drivers.

Worst case, time to reinstall Vista from a reformat.

PS: Some older edit software (Pinnacle and Nero have been culprits) grab the IEEE-1394 port with startup programs making the port unavailable to other programs. Uninstall this type of software and see if the port becomes available.