Unable to capture using Pinnacle + Scenalyzer + Win 10

[VideoBurger]

All the pertinent information:

• Pinnacle USB 700
• Sony DCR TRV8
• Scenalyzer Lite Software (Registered)
• Windows 10 Surface Laptop
• Windows Recognizes USB700 and installed some sort of drivers upon first connect.
• Attempted to install the software that came with the 700 USB but it was too old and failed.
• Went to Pinnacle site and installed Pinnacle Studio 23. Worked, recognized 700USB. No stream detected.
• Pinnacle support said 23 wont work with 700 USB so I uninstalled all software.
• Sony Camcorder Firewire out to Pinnacle
• USB from Pinnacle into Laptop
• Sony camera settings ETC > DISPLAY > V-OUT/LCD
• Scenalyzer running as Administrator on Windows
• Downloaded Scenalyzer from a thread found in these forums but date said 2006
• Selected Capture Device in Scenalyzer is: Pinnacle 700-USB

Upon selecting that device, Scenalyzer displays error: Error:cc:Can't connect to capture-driver - disconnect and reconnect firewire of camera/vcr!:137


[Attachment 53772 - Click to enlarge]

Random thoughts/questions:

• Does DCRTRV8 support this?
• Are my settings correct in the Sony camera?
• Is Windows 10 really recognizing the device or do I need more software? I assume it is, as its making the "new hardware" chime when I plug it in and unplug it, and the USB700 is displayed as a device in Scenalyzer.
• Will this only work with Pinnacle600 and if so, why not the 700?

Thanks for any help.

[dellsam34]

Use USB 2.0 port not USB 3.0.

[VideoBurger]

Use USB 2.0 port not USB 3.0.

I'm not using 3.0.

Forgot to mention. Before I did ANYTHING I attempted to install the software that came with the 700 USB but it was too old and failed.

So I installed the latest Pinnacle Studio 23 from their website. This worked but wouldn't recognize any video stream coming into the latop either. Pinnacle support told me it wont work with the 700 USB anyway so I uninstalled it.

---------

Update:

I tried capturing using my normal software which is VideoPad Professional. It also recognized the Pinnacle 700-USB device. However it displays (maybe a generic) error: Device Error - may be in use by another application.

I noticed there was a capture device settings option. I clicked on it and was presented with a Pinnacle Systems window. Interesting. It says driver version is 4.0.46.0 USB Mode 2.0 (High Speed).


[Attachment 53773 - Click to enlarge]

[DB83]

I would have thought this is a hardware issue.


SC-Live is expecting a device over a firewire connection not over a USB connection. If your camera is outputting DV I hardly think by connecting that to USB capture device leaves the signal as DV.

[VideoBurger]

I would have thought this is a hardware issue.

My mind keeps thinking software. This is actually a brand new 700-USB new in box that I found on ebay. Fully sealed.

The assumption here is that I don't need any of the pinnacle software to make this work properly?

[dellsam34]

Try to restore windows to a point before you started all this and try Win 7 64 or 32 version driver whichever you have from the page below and see if it helps (Win7 driver should work for win 10), Alternatively try to go into processes and end all pinnacle applications:

http://cdn.pinnaclesys.com/SupportFiles/Hardware_Installer/readmeHW10.htm

[VideoBurger]

I would have thought this is a hardware issue.


SC-Live is expecting a device over a firewire connection not over a USB connection. If your camera is outputting DV I hardly think by connecting that to USB capture device leaves the signal as DV.

I found this in the Sony manual:

The video does not transfer properly from the camcorder to the computer using the i.LINK connection.

1. Ensure the camcorder is turned on and being powered by the supplied AC power adapter.

NOTE: The i.LINK function of the camcorder cannot be used simultaneously with the Handycam® station that is supplied with select camcorders. In this case, remove the Handycam station and connect the AC power adaptor and i.LINK cable to the camcorder directly.

-------------

I am using a battery as this old camcorder I bought on ebay didn't come with an AC power adapter. Im not using the "handycam station". But it doesn't mention battery or not. Maybe this is the problem?

[dellsam34]

No, that's not the problem as long as the battery has enough power.

[DB83]

Sorry to hark on but you are chasing your own tail here.


Now maybe that Pinnacle device with a supported OS and software could have seen your camcorder and captured the recorded footage. I doubt that even then the captured footage would have been DV.avi but transcoded by the Pinnacle device/software in to another format.


That SC-Live sees the device may well have fooled you. But the simple case is that you can not transfer DV from a camcorder to a PC with this software, or WinDV for that matter (but do not take my word for it - just try it), that does not have a IEEE1394 port. And more so since SC-Live only looks for that port hence the error message you had.


You may also think that getting a simple firewire to usb adapter will solve your problem. But it will not :-


https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/343433-Capturing-DV-camcorder-to-laptop-w-o-firewire-port


And as the above topic states, your only option is a PC/Laptop with a firewire port or for a PC an add-in firewire card.

[dellsam34]

Yes there are firewire to USB adapters made by Pinnacle:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/396471-help-with-capturing-dv-footage-from-sony-ha...am#post2577576

And work in Windows 10 with USB 2.0 just fine:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/396471-help-with-capturing-dv-footage-from-sony-ha...am#post2577809

[DB83]

Ok. According to your screencap from the 2nd link one should use 'Microsoft DV Camera and VCR' as the source and not the Pinnacle device. That is simply acting as a 'bridge'

[dellsam34]

Yes, That's a Microsoft generic name for any DV device, Once the driver is installed correctly it makes Windows think it's connecting to a DV device. I think his device is being detected as a USB capture device instead of a bridge, And the second picture from post #3 proves that.

[DB83]

This really 'smells' then as a driver issue. The OP mentioned Windoze apparently installing something but that could just be a generic driver and not one specific to the unit.


The correct driver, if compatable for the OS, would be on the CD or available from Pinnacle and drivers, typically, have to be installed BEFORE you initially plug in to a usb port. But I also wonder if the 700 really is not compatable with Win10. I checked both the 700 and the 500 over at Amazon but that does not help. It states that both were available from 2005 and both for XP. One would think a 700 is a later model but that may not be the case especially that you have your 500 working.

[dellsam34]

They were made way before Win7 but Pinnacle supported them up to Win7 and hey pulled the plug, However as generic devices they can be used in any Windows version as long as Microsoft doesn't drop support for firewire protocols, Wind7 drivers could be used in Win10, I gave him a link above.

[VideoBurger]

They were made way before Win7 but Pinnacle supported them up to Win7 and hey pulled the plug, However as generic devices they can be used in any Windows version as long as Microsoft doesn't drop support for firewire protocols, Wind7 drivers could be used in Win10, I gave him a link above.

I'm back. You were right. It was seeing the device as a USB device not a bridge. I installed your suggested Win7 drivers. End result is all the errors disappeared and it seemed ready to roll, but the viewing screen in both VideoPad and Scenalyzer don't show any video feed. It detects the device, doesn't say it has any issues, but no video feed.

There is also a side issue in that Windows is constantly battling to replace the drivers with its own. If I unplug the device, or reboot or anything, when I plug back in, all the old errors appear because the new drivers aren't taking dominance. I then have to go into Device Manager and uninstall the device entirely then reinstall the new drivers to get back to my new baseline.


[Attachment 53840 - Click to enlarge]

EDIT:

Interesting. Im actually a little shocked to see that my Device Manager is detecting my Sony Camera, which is connected only to the Pinnacle Device. That really means it should be working. I wonder if I need proper drivers for the camera? I shouldn't, right?

EDIT 2:

Yeah powering off the camera itself actually makes my laptop make the "removed device" sound, and turning it back on, my laptop makes the "adding new device" chime. But still no video feed, can't control start or stop, etc.


[Attachment 53841 - Click to enlarge]

[VideoBurger]

Update:

Figured it out. I did not have "DVR and VCR Device" selected in the dropdown like you did. Noticed that on your screen caps. I had the Pinnacle 700 selected.

This fixed it for VideoPad and im getting a video feed now there. Switching to that in Scenalyzer caused the app to crash. Ill try reopening it.

Questions:

1. Do you recommend using Scenalyzer for best quality transfer or is VideoPad better?
2. Do I have to enter the registration key every single time I open Scenalyzer? Seems that I do.
3. Any settings you recommend in the menus or other areas to ensure best quality capture?
4. What file type, audio, video settings should I pick?

Thanks

[DB83]

1. DV is a 1:1 transfer from tape to PC. Both should give identical results
2. Noticed that you use a 'registered' version of Scenalyzer. But it became a free program many moons ago. Maybe you should un-install your copy and re-install afresh
3. See 1
4. See 3 (Videopad can, I believe, capture in other formats but why compromise. I believe I also read of some settings in sc-live that are not pure DV)

[dellsam34]

I’m not sure what windows is doing but like I said to start fresh you have to reverse your tracks all the way back before you installed the USB drivers.

[VideoBurger]

I’m not sure what windows is doing but like I said to start fresh you have to reverse your tracks all the way back before you installed the USB drivers.

Check out my last post in this thread.

[dellsam34]

Your last post was addressed by DB83, Now when you click on the dropdown box in ScenalizerLive what kind of devices you see in the list?