No video when capturing in Premiere Pro

[McAsh]

I can't capture anything from my camcorder.. I use Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5.
The problem is that I got no video shown in the capture-screen in Premiere, though the camcorder is connected correctly to the computer. This means that I can control the camcorder through premiere, but I just can't capture anything because there is no video in the capture-screen. The only video I can see (and hear) is on the LCD-screen on my camcorder - not on my computer.. What's wrong?
Btw - i got XP codec pack installed and WM9 codec.

/McAsh

[redwudz]

DV camcorder transferring to the computer with a FireWire cable? If so, try WinDV and see if it works any better.

Does your computer recognize the camera when you plug it in? Do you have a motherboard FireWire input or a PCI card? Does it work at all with a USB input from the camera to the computer? Have you tried your cable and camera on another computer? Just because the preview is blank, have you checked to see if a DV file was created?

Have you read the 'sticky' in the DV forum? https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=267926

And welcome to our forums.

[McAsh]

I am not experienced with WinDV, but I downloaded and installed it, but with no luck. Maybe it is because it is configured wrong - I don't know?! Anyway, the problem continues. And yes, I transfer with FireWire cable normally.

I don't get it.. The mystery is still unsolved!

[Snakebyte1]

Did it work before or is this the first time you have tried?

If it doesn't work in both Premiere and WinDV (you could also try DVIO and see if that works), it could be the camera or the cable. Check the cable and make sure its not damaged (tiny pins can get bent).

When you connect your camera, does XP acknowledge it at all? Does XP go "Ding" when you turn the camera on?

You could try to upload video to your camera and see if that works.

[McAsh]

This is my first time trying to capture in Premiere on my new laptop.

XP goes "ding" when I turn on the camera.
I don't think it is the cable that is the problem.. I just bought it two days ago. Another reason why I don't think it is the cable that causes the problem is because I can control the camera through Premiere in the capture-screen.

[Snakebyte1]

OK, you have established that the camera and XP can communicate which is good.

What type of camera is it? Perhaps you have to go into the cameras settings to enable the DV port.

[edDV]

Try WinDV. That simplifies the analysis by separating XP DirectShow issues from Premiere Pro Issues. Windows Movie Maker could also be used to test DV transfer.

[McAsh]

it's pretty weird.. Now it works! I didn't change any settings or configurations, I just tried one more time and I succeeded! However, Premiere still drops a few frames and sometimes I get an error which says: "Stopped capturing because blank tape was detected" or something like that. I don't really know what the problem is..

[edDV]

it's pretty weird.. Now it works! I didn't change any settings or configurations, I just tried one more time and I succeeded! However, Premiere still drops a few frames and sometimes I get an error which says: "Stopped capturing because blank tape was detected" or something like that. I don't really know what the problem is..

You need continuous time code on the tape (i.e. no gaps). Otherwise the capture stops as if hitting the end of the tape.

If you are dropping frames, shut down Premiere and other apps. Then use WinDV to capture. It uses far less system resource and has a small stream buffer.

The other big issue for capture is to separate the OS drive from the video drive (second drive). This can't be done with a laptop so you need to minimize system load during capture.

In tech terms, the dropped frames are caused by the OS or another application taking control of the hard drive. It isn't a CPU power issue, ideally all other applications would be paused during capture.

[McAsh]

My problem continues again.. Don't know why I suddenly was able to capture, but apparently it was only for a short while.

I don't get any picture on my capture-screen, but I can still control the camcorder through Premiere, so it should be properly connected.

Do I need a codec or something?? I tried to capture with Windows Movie Maker and PowerProducer but also with no luck.

I got a Mini-DV JVC GR-D270E camcorder. If the camcorder-settings is the problem which settings am I supposed to change?

Pls help!

/McAsh

[12Quidkidinnit]

That's a weird one. I haven't had that happen in PP 1.5 but a similar thing has happened in Premiere Elements 2. I don't know for sure, but I think it was a conflict with some drivers for the video card in the computer. Instead of a picture in the preview window, there were just blurred colours.

You can change one of the settings in Premiere Pro 1.5 so that it won't stop capturing if frames are dropped. File, Preferences, Capture. Uncheck the box for abort capture on dropped frames.

* edit - thinking more about it, if it's intermittent, it may be a connection problem rather than a software issue. I appreciate the firewire cable is new, but it isn't unheard of for new things to be defective. Have you got a spare lead you could try. Or could the firewire port in the computer be causing the problem ? Is there another computer you could try, so you can see if it works ok on a different system ?

[McAsh]

The problem occured after I bought my new laptop. I haven't been able to capture in Premiere since I installed it on my laptop. On my other computer at home (which is not available for me, because I am travelling around the world right now) Premiere works fine, but I believe that I have other codecs installed on that computer. But is there any possibility that this problem is related to codecs or codec packs? - I got XP Codec Pack installed and WM9 Media Codec. And I actually have bad experience with codec packs; I used to have Gordian Knot Codec Pack installed on my computer at home, but that codec pack includes Morgan StreamSwitcher, which causes kind of the same problem in Premiere.
As mentioned, I got XP Codec Pack installed and WM9 Media codec. I tried to uninstall XP Codec Pack, but then Premiere didn't start at all and the following error-message popped up: "Premiere Could not find any valid editing modes - Please reinstall Adobe Premiere Pro and start again." Then I installed XP Codec Pack again and then Premiere started again. But I still don't get any picture in my capture screen...!! It's just a thought, but I have no idea if this is related to codecs..

Furthermore, I haven't got any other cables to try, but I still don't believe that it is the cable that causes the problem because of the fact that I am able to control the camcorder through Premiere.

[12Quidkidinnit]

What happens if you import a previously captured piece of footage into Premiere ? Does any video show in the preview window ?
If so, how about using Windows Movie Maker to do the capture ?
As for codecs, I've had some that messed things up quite badly once, and it ended up with a reinstall of everything

[frankiec]

What happens if you import a previously captured piece of footage into Premiere ? Does any video show in the preview window ?
If so, how about using Windows Movie Maker to do the capture ?
As for codecs, I've had some that messed things up quite badly once, and it ended up with a reinstall of everything

"The way I see it is that there is no right or wrong" way to mess things up.