Please please help. I am stuck

[Gammbit]

I need help please. I trying to capture from my Panasonic DV-202 Camcorder through Firewire to my computer….I have tried several programs- Microsoft Movie Maker 2, Ulead, and Adobe Premiere. They all start out fine, but they all stop after about 30-60 seconds of DV capturing. The video stops capturing but the camcorder keeps playing.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Gammbit

System:

ECS P4VXASD2+ Motherboard
P4 2.4
512 MB DDR
VIA Chipset Firewire
Geforce 4 MX440 64MB
Master HD- 15GB IBM
Secondary HD- 30GB Maxtor
Windows XP Home SP1

[Brpod]

Never buy Panasonic, I have had a few Cam's and had nothing but trouble. Check the usual, which drive r u capturing to. You need lots of space and defragging should help. 8)

[Gammbit]

I did a test last night...I turned off Ultra DMA on both drives and I was able to capture as much as I wanted but with a lot of frames lost.

The minute I would turn DMA back on I would only be able to capture 200-300 frames and then it would stop altogether.

The IBM drive runs at 66/UDMA and the Maxtor drive runs 100/UDMA

I think I need a better faster HD although other people with the same drives have no problems capturing....

Also both of my drives are less than 2% fragmented.

IF anyone has any suggestions please post.

Thanks,

Gammbit

[Karate Media]

First question: Is your camcorder plugged in or running on batteries when you attempt to capture? If you haven't tried it yet, try capturing w/out plugging the camera into an outlet - just run it on batteries.


EDIT: Took out link to Microsoft Knowldege Base search on IEEE 1394.
Just go to:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto


Anyway, I know that this article address a similar problem in previous versions of Windows:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q284837

But that's all the help I can give

[Gammbit]

Thanks for the reply Karate Media,

I've tried capturing with the camera on AC power and Batteries-same results on both.

The Microsoft link that you've posted, although informative, didn't help. The device stays connected, but when capturing all capturing software I have used stops capturing within the first minute. I am able to stop the camcorder and try to recapture without having to reboot my machine or restart my camera.

All of my equipment has all of the latest drivers, DirectX 9, XP Home SP1, updated Bios, updated AGP, updated Motherboard drivers.

I'm able to play back the Video on my computer through my Firewire connection from the camera at full resolution and what not..it's just not able to capture it...and yes I have tried programs like DVIO that capture without showing you the video while capturing.

I think the problem is the motherboard, because my firewire card seems to be working fine and the HDs should be fast enough to handle the incoming data, maybe the IDE bus ins't processing it fast enough.

Keep your suggestions coming though. I am willing to try anything.

Thanks

[mkelley]

Are you using Premiere 6.5?

They've improved the capture drivers greatly in it, so it's worth a try. Also, as long as you're troubleshooting, I'd definitely remove the camera from the equation. Beg, borrow or steal another firewire camera (hopefully another make, like Sony) and see if that solves the problem. If so, you'll know where to look.

And if you don't mind spending money (besides an upgrade to 6.5, which you really should have it you don't already) then I'd even try another firewire card in your PC. Get it from some local store with return privledges and you won't even be out anything. Same thing goes for alternative capture devices -- try a Dazzle Hollywood (converts from analog to firewire).

Troubleshooting 101 is always to isolate the problem, and at the very least I'd want to know if you can capture *any* other way.

[flaninacupboard]

if DMA modes are an issue, try putting your two hard drives on different IDE channels, there may be some kind of conflict. it is curious that you drop frames with lower dma settings. even lowly dma33 (standard since the days of.....well ages ago!) can capture DV no problem.

[Gammbit]

Ok, Update....

I have tried Premiere 6.5 with same results....trying a different camera=same results.

I did seperate the two drives. I had longer capture time but it still hung withing 3 mins of capturing. Both drives I defragged even though it said it wasn't required.

Any other suggestions would be helpful. The only thing left I can think of is to purchase a new Motherboard.

Thanks

[tjtoed]

I too have a panasonic DV camcorder and I am able to capture flawlessly via a firewire card using Movie Maker 2 on XP SP1. I have capured about 10 90 minutes tapes without a problem.

Maybe there are some conflicts with DirectX 9. It might be worth a shot to put DirectX 8 back on and see what happens. I have DirectX 8.1.


Just a suggestion...

Also - if the firewire port built directly on your motherboard, or is it a card on a PCI slot? If it is not a card, then go buy a card, put it in and see what happens...

[mkelley]

One more thing to try:

Add the following to your Prem60.ini file:

[Override]
PreferDSCodecs=1

[jnk76]

Before you run out and get motherboard.....I would try this:

I am not sure how many devices you have but connect your 100 ATA HD and nothing else....keep the other HD and perp. (CD, DVD) dissconnected and see what happens. If it still does not work you are almost guarenteed it is the mobo. If it does work your power supply may be going dead or not enough power. I didn't have same problem as you but similar and found it was the PS.

Hope this helps

[Gammbit]

New update,

I tried taking off everything off the IDE channels except for the 100 ata udma hd...did the same thing.

The firewire card I have is made by startech model 1394_4. I called their tech support and they told me to get my card on it's own IRQ as everything else was set right and I shouldn't have any problems. I've since been able to get it onto it's on IRQ by a lot of work. I'm still having the same problem although I get 5 minutes captured now before it freezes.


Anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[jokerman]

Try a different brand of ddr ram. I had a bitch ass problem with this motherboard. I was using IBM 256mb ddr ecc cl-2 and this piece of shit would always freeze. It finally ran stable with kingston.

[mkelley]

Did you add that line to your Premiere .ini file?

If so I think you need to start deleting capture codecs -- drop by the Adobe board and present your situation there and they can provide a lot more assistance.

[amcky]

Just a thought..... I may be wrong but I believe if you put 2 HDD on the same channel they both will only run at the speed of the slower>
An ATA 66 with an ATA 100 both will run at ATA 66. I don't believe that this is fast enough.
amcky

[rkr1958]

An ATA 66 with an ATA 100 both will run at ATA 66. I don't believe that this is fast enough.
amcky

Capture requires < 4 MB/sec. Firewire gives you a maximum of 400 Mb/sec (or 50 MB/sec), but Firewire to DV camera is usually 100 Mb/sec (or 12.5 MB/sec). ATA 66 Harddrive gives (theoritically) 66 MB/sec. Thus, even an ATA 66 harddrive SHOULDN'T be a bottleneck ...