help with capturing dv footage from sony handycam

[mtntrogger]

Hello everyone. First post. I really need some help here. I own a sony dcr trv 38 camcorder. I am trying to capture video footage from tapes with my laptop that is running windows 10. The computer wont recognize the camera when I plug it in with the provided usb cord. I attempted to install the driver on windows 10, but it is still not working. I am aware that the drivers are from 2002 and there may be compatibility issues. I am hoping that someone on here knows a way for me to work around this issue. I dont want to buy any new hardware. I have seen that some folks buy a analog converter. There has to be another way. I never had any problems with this when I was using my older desktop and previous laptop. Any input is helpful. Thanks

[aedipuss]

sony dcr usb cables were only for transferring still shots back then and you can't install the driver from back then in win10. you never could transfer video with them anyway. the only way to properly transfer the miniDV tapes is over firewire. you need a computer with a firewire port and a firewire cable. no other way will get the job done properly.

[mtntrogger]

Thank you. I feared that might be the case. Back in the day I custom built a desktop with a special video card that had the firewire connect. I pretty much built that system specifically for editing video. I do still have a external hard drive from that era that has the firewire connection. Idont think it will be possible to utilize that connection to capture the footage though. Really bummed that I got rid of that setup. So my only options now will be to either find a computer with a firewire port or use one of those video converters, which dont look like they would retain the video quality ?

[dellsam34]

There is a way using one of the Pinnacle capture devices such as the 500-USB, This device takes DV data pockets and send them over a USB port, Not only you get 1:1 transfer of your tapes over USB but you can control the camcorder functions within the application like WinDV or ScenalyzerLive, The same device can capture analog sources as well according to the following diagram:

[aedipuss]

if you only have one tape that needs capturing it might be worth the 20 bucks or so to have it done by a video service. or if you have more to buy a firewire card to install in your computer.

[dellsam34]

I don't see how it's possible to install a firewire card on Windows 10 laptop.

[aedipuss]

lol i didn't notice it was a laptop. not any worse than recommending a 15 year old usb device that was designed for windows XP. doubtful it would work with w10...

[dellsam34]

Nope, It works perfectly in Windows 10 using ScenalyzerLive, I have the 500-USB device and I'm transferring a Digital8 tape via firewire right now to the device then from the device to a Win10 laptop using a regular USB cable, I can even control the camcorder functions from the application, See the screen shot:

[wim v]

thanks, to your all,
this was really helpful.
especially the pinnacle 500 solution.
pci-card an older pc was as wel an good option.
found a pinnacle 500 for around 60 pound in the US.
delivery middle of oktober.
by the way; saw, there was one more item for sale left on the ebay US site.
wonderful, it made my day.
greetings:
wim.

[boytroy88]

I know this thread is kind of old but was wondering if anyone knows whether the Pinnacle Systems Liquid Edition Pro Movie Breakout Box would work in place of the Pinnacle 500-usb in the setup using the ScenalyzerLive software?

[sandra39dog]

Will the pinnacle 500 USB work with windows 10. I have tried to download the ScenalyzerLive software but my pc is telling me there is malware on the link? Can anyone confirm it is safe to download?

thanks for any replies @dellsam34

[dellsam34]

No Sclive is not a malware, Anything you download from this forum is safe unless you are using external links.

[sandra39dog]

Thank you, finally managed to download it a got hold of a brand new pinnacle studio for £10.00. On the Scenalyser it says that I have downloaded a trial copy and will need a key, I have found it, now to try it all out tomorrow, wish me luck

[suelaine]

I got one of these Pinnacle Movie Boxes off ebay. I find that I didn't even really need it since I have a Panasonic GS-PV500 mini dv camcorder which will allow transfer of dv footage by usb. The movie box also works fine! For all of you out there needing to still work with mini dv tapes, I recommend getting the Movie Box but make sure it is an older one that actually has the firewire port. I got lucky as even though mine came in an "open box" as used, I don't think it had ever been used before at all, as the cords were in sealed bags and it had film over parts of it.
It worked fine with my Windows 10 desktop after installing the software (which all came with mine, like I said, looked like new) but curiosity gets the better of me so I wanted to see if it would work with my Windows 11 Laptop. The answer is not that easily! You can disable Core Isolation Memory Integrity to get it to work. If you REALLY need this to work with a Windows 11 laptop/pc, what I would do (and did do) is create a restore point before installing the software/drivers. Then go ahead and disable Core Isolation Memory Integrity. You could also disconnect from the Internet if you are worried about this. Do what you need to with capturing the tapes, and when done, use the restore point to put everything back to normal.