VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 16 of 16
Thread
  1. Okay everybody, this is my second post about this issue. I have an HV40 that isn't recognized by my computer. I have done everything online that is mentioned.. including trying many different drivers, a different firewire cable, ect. I plugged the camera into another computer an old Macbook maybe from 2006 or something. I have never used Macs before. Would the device "Pop up" on a mac like it does on a desktop? How can I tell whether the device is being recognized? Well long story short I purchased another used HV40 on ebay.. and guess what?? same problems. I can't get it recognized on the windows 7 desktop I have or the old macbook. I have two firewire cables.. but I just purchased two more which will be here in 48 hours I can use to test.. just in case somehow BOTH firewire cables are bad. I find it hard to believe both cameras firewire ports are bad.
    *Does anyone know if firewire devices "pop up" on a macbook?
    *Does anyone know if its possible to transfer HD video from the HV40 in any other fashion? I do have composite cables cords and HDMI cords which I know transmit 1080 HD video.
    *I don't have another firewire device other than these two HV40s.. But is there anyway to test a firewire port? I have two cards now in my desktop so I find it highly unlikely its a port problem or a hardware problem.

    Any help will be appreciated.. I'm seriously about to bash these cameras to pieces.
    Quote Quote  
  2. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    666th portal
    Search Comp PM
    wow. i can't say i've ever had a firewire problem like that. if you put the cam firewire port into DV out mode, then with the cam turned on in play mode plug in the firewire cable, then run winDV as admin from a folder other than c: program anything, does winDV find the cam?
    --
    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
    Quote Quote  
  3. Let me try and I'll report back
    Quote Quote  
  4. No go.. Still nothing being recognized.. either in Device Manager or WinDV with my original camera or the used one I just purchased. How can I tell if the device is being recognized in a Macbook? I have this macbook here, but It isn't doing me any good as I have no idea whether the computer is recognizing the cameras or not.
    Quote Quote  
  5. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    San Francisco, California
    Search PM
    A cursory search of the 'net suggests that the HV40's FireWire implementation is far from robust. I assume you are scrupulously following Canon's transfer instructions.

    You should be able to test the connection on Mac with iMovie.
    Quote Quote  
  6. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    666th portal
    Search Comp PM
    turn on the cam/put it in play mode/connect fw cable to mac and start imovie.
    --
    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
    Quote Quote  
  7. Member turk690's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    ON, Canada
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by ducksalot View Post
    ... I find it hard to believe both cameras firewire ports are bad.
    Firewire ports can die, or become intermittent. On the camcorder side, the 4 thin contacts rest on a little plastic slab that can break off or crack just a bit after so many plugs and unplugs. Ditto if it's the same type of connector on the computer side (like laughtops equipped with 1394). Even if the port is physically good (like the bigger 6-pin), internally, the chip itself can become bad due to a variety of reasons (like other typical balance-pair ports which open or short). Though you can't do anything with a camcorder that has a verified defective port (physically or electrically or both) short of having it repaired or buying a new camcorder, there are a few things you can do with a computer (not a laughtop, as my statement about the camcorder will also apply). Since there is scarce info about your computer apart from windoze 7, I will assume it's a desktop that you can open and tinker with. Windoze device manager may still show a firewire device as good even if its port is physically open or shorted. I have posted before my experiences about firewire ports vis-a-vis connected a DV/HDV camcorder to them with a view to controlling camcorder and ultimately pulling off the DV/HDV streams; the likelyhood of success increases if
    • firewire chipset is Texas Instruments (TI); not VIA, Promise, etc. A typical card is this http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_19_926&item_id=046459
    • it's OHCI (not UHCI), preferably legacy firewire 400 if you can get it, not 800, and is a stand-alone firewire device, not a combo card with USB thrown in
    • the manufacturer bothered to include the correct (64 bit, if that) drivers with it
    The first step is to disable the existing firewire chip in the computer through device manager. (I'm curious here: what does your windoze say about it? Is it TI? What drivers did you install so far?) You then power the computer, completely unplug it from outlet, open it and locate a PCIe slot (at least 4x, avoid 2x or 1x), install card properly, power up. Windoze should recognize it and automatically install drivers; test it and see if camcorder is recognized at this point in device manager under imaging devices as 'Canon DV camcorder'.
    I ventured suggesting replacing the firewire card because 1. I assume you are using a desktop that has an unoccupied PCIe x4 slot, and 2. you have bought another camcorder which showed the exact same connectivitie problems. TI-chipset OHCI firewire cards work because the drivers windoze provides are good enough; other chipsets may work too if stable drivers were thrown in the box (but I have given up on that). If you browse through sites that sell firewire cards, they may point out cards that are specifically for "connecting a camcorder" (like the link I gave above). Sorry can't go anywhere near anything whose name starts with "i" (apart from my beloved i7 processor, that is).
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
    Quote Quote  
  8. Originally Posted by ducksalot View Post
    Okay everybody, this is my second post about this issue. I have an HV40 that isn't recognized by my computer. I have done everything online that is mentioned.. including trying many different drivers, a different firewire cable, ect. I plugged the camera into another computer an old Macbook maybe from 2006 or something. I have never used Macs before. Would the device "Pop up" on a mac like it does on a desktop? How can I tell whether the device is being recognized? Well long story short I purchased another used HV40 on ebay.. and guess what?? same problems. I can't get it recognized on the windows 7 desktop I have or the old macbook. I have two firewire cables.. but I just purchased two more which will be here in 48 hours I can use to test.. just in case somehow BOTH firewire cables are bad. I find it hard to believe both cameras firewire ports are bad.
    *Does anyone know if firewire devices "pop up" on a macbook?
    *Does anyone know if its possible to transfer HD video from the HV40 in any other fashion? I do have composite cables cords and HDMI cords which I know transmit 1080 HD video.
    *I don't have another firewire device other than these two HV40s.. But is there anyway to test a firewire port? I have two cards now in my desktop so I find it highly unlikely its a port problem or a hardware problem.

    Any help will be appreciated.. I'm seriously about to bash these cameras to pieces.
    Oh, you poor soul. You wasted money on a second HV40 and still aren't any closer. Allow me propose this:

    Does the HV40 HDMI-out still work? If so, I think the most logical, painless path forward at this point would be to sell the second HV40 back onto ebay (minimize your losses) and get an HDMI capture device. The HDV footage will get scaled from 1440x1080 to 1920x1080 in-cam, but I think that is a reasonable compromise at this point. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend any HDMI capture cards, but I am sure someone here can, that are reasonably priced.

    FWIW, I have an Atomos Ninja 2. As a result, I rarely use the actual tape drive recording mechanism on my HV40 anymore.
    Quote Quote  
  9. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Republic of Texas
    Search Comp PM
    Can't help with the Macbook, but maybe your desktop. I had the same problem one Win 7 system a couple of years back, and this was the remedy:

    Connect the HV40 to your Win 7 desktop and power up. Then, go into the Device Manager; click on IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers; right-click on the device listed (usually some sort of Microsoft DV device); select Update Driver Software, then select the option 'browse my computer for driver software,' followed by the option 'let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer;' and finally, select the driver named '1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)’ and make sure the 'show compatible hardware' checkbox is ticked.

    I don't use the HV40 much these days, but it still works on my PC. Hope this helps.
    Quote Quote  
  10. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    666th portal
    Search Comp PM
    how many tapes do you need captured? it's about $20/each if you want someone else to do them...
    --
    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
    Quote Quote  
  11. I have used this camera for years and I plan on using it (them) for years to come therefore I'm not interested in having the tapes captured by someone else. I actually really do love the HV40 despite the recent headache it's giving me. Thank you for your replies.

    *Regarding firewire cables I have two new ones on the way they will arrive tomorrow. This leaves me with 4 to test with. If the two I currently have are both defunct I will be flabbergasted.

    *Regarding the firewire cards I actually have TWO currently installed in my computer. A PCIE combo host card from vantec 800/400. and a PCI from Startech. The original is the startech which I have used successfully for quite some time. (Maybe two years or more) This is what leads me to believe it isn't an issue with the computer.

    *Regarding returning the new camera, if the firewire port is indeed dead then I believe I can return for full refund. However I still have yet to fully verify that.

    *

    *Regarding the driver alterations I have tried every driver. Including texas instruments, legacy and j micron the usual suspects.

    *I still haven't figured out how to use this Icrap but I'm working on it. As far as I can tell Imovie isn't on this thing??? Is there anyway to tell if the device is being recognized without Imovie?

    *Turk690- The computer recognizes both firewire cards. Currently they are both running the legacy 1394 drivers. I will disable and reinstall the cards and see what happens. Will report back soon.
    Quote Quote  
  12. FYI the original startech firewire card uses TI chipset by default. this has always worked for me in the past
    Quote Quote  
  13. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Republic of Texas
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by ducksalot View Post
    *Regarding the driver alterations I have tried every driver. Including texas instruments, legacy and j micron the usual suspects.
    None of those worked for me either. Only "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)" under Win 7 worked, and only then with the "show compatible hardware" box checked. It is easily overlooked.

    Is it not worth trying again?
    Quote Quote  
  14. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    666th portal
    Search Comp PM
    this is the driver that works for me. never had a problem or had to change it. ports are built into the motherboard.

    Image Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	2016-10-07_112057.png
Views:	829
Size:	90.4 KB
ID:	38858  

    --
    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
    Quote Quote  
  15. Member turk690's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    ON, Canada
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by ducksalot View Post
    Regarding the firewire cards I actually have TWO currently installed in my computer. A PCIE combo host card from vantec 800/400. and a PCI from Startech. The original is the startech which I have used successfully for quite some time. (Maybe two years or more) This is what leads me to believe it isn't an issue with the computer.
    Sometimes, windoze updates or updates other programs automatically do muck up registry settings and often all that has to be done is to jolt windoze into re-recognizing some hardware again and more importantly, work properly. Try this: uninstall the two cards in device manager. Power down computer and unplug it. Take out those two cards. Power up computer again, noting that they are not existent in device manager anymore (windoze hopefully reorganizes itself at this point; this is why cold restarts are important steps). Power down computer and unplug again. Install the Startech, preferably in a separate PCIe slot that it wasn't previously occupying, at least 4x (avoid 2x or 1x; do not put back the combo card as my experience has shown potential for conflicts, etc; for bonafide capture of DV streams from a camcorder, avoid combo cards). Plug-in computer and power up; windoze should recognize card and install the drivers. We know that the Startech has a TI chipset, so that at least bodes well for it. If the card is electrically and physically good, and the same can be said and verified of the firewire cable and the HV40, then all should be recognized by windoze. Note that, 1394 TI device appearing in device manager does not guarantee it's OK. If for example the actual firewire data line is open as a defect, it will still not recognize the camcorder (or any connected firewire device). In that case you may want to gamble and get another startech (or any other PCIe firewire card with a TI-chipset). My experience, btw, with the current crop of chinese startech, vantec, etc cards has been less than ideal. They are often of poor manufacturing quality; I had one with scratches and cold solder joints, another with ill-fitting headers. More than 15 years ago when DV was all the rage, companies like ADS Tech sold sturdy PCI firewire cards that worked like a dream, and often had a full copy of Adobe Premiere thrown in. Look at this https://www.amazon.com/ADS-Technologies-Pyro-Digital-Video/dp/B00004Y2P4

    Originally Posted by ducksalot View Post
    Regarding the driver alterations I have tried every driver. Including texas instruments, legacy and j micron the usual suspects.
    You can't just try drivers willy-nilly. Drivers are also programs written to interface windoze with very specific hardware. A VIA driver can't be forced to be installed if a TI-chipset firewire card is existent, and vice-versa. MS provides these drivers as a courtesy; we are often at the mercy of that fact when manufacturers that sell hardware provide buggy drivers with them or none at all. 64bit has complicated the issue recently. I recommended using a TI-chipset firewire card because drivers that windoze automatically installs for them work all the time, as opposed to other chipsets, in my experience. You can look at a card and see the chip itself; it will tell if it's TI, VIA, JMicron, SiS, etc, and therefore provide you with a heads-up of what driver to expect to be installed.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
    Quote Quote  
  16. turk690 I attempted your fix and no go. Both cards are TI, both cards are being recognized but no camera recognition. I tried with only 1 card at a time as well. I think I just need to take these cameras somewhere to get them tested. Closest place I could find is an hour off though I guess camera/computer places don't even have firewire machines any longer
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!