I bought a Sharp VL-PD1(U) digital camcorder a little over two years
ago. At the time I owned a PC and an Imac. I could get the PC to see
the camcorder but obviously I never got an Imac to see it as it did
not have firewire.
So, I bought a G4 450 with firewire. Again, could not see the
camcorder. So, I bought EditDV with the Radius 1394 Firewire card that
it included. Again, it sees nothing.
I REALLY want this to work. There HAS to be either a driver for this
camcorder OR somebody has to have written a software program that has
no frills and just checks the firewire ports and reads in the DV. I do
not need it to edit it. I have MANY programs to do that.
Now, let me tell you I have SCOURED the web for this. Here is one link
I found that said that this camcorder would work with the Mac.
http://www.dvformat.com/htm/features/2000/8_00/Firewirecards1.htm
I have tried to contact Digital Origin and they have now been bought
by someone else.
I will GLADLY pay the $50 if I can get this hooked up. However,
understand it has to work! I am really looking for a digital guru here
that knows about first generation camcorders and what the problem is.
I do not even need to be able to hit the play and pause on the
computer screen...I can control that on the camcorder. I just want
pure digital DV read into a mac! Period! |
Clarification of Question by
kaiserwilhelm-ga
on
09 Jul 2002 10:41 PDT
I have tried it on 3 G4- 450 to 500 Mhz. I have tried different cables
as well.
I have Firewire Enabler, Firewire Support and Firewire Authoring
Support extensions.
I have found other people on the web having the same problem. I would
really think I am screwed except that the Digital Origin link listed
above says that EditDV with their card should do it.
By the way, the firewire card is made by Radius and Apple System
Profiles sees the card.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
lot-ga
on
09 Jul 2002 16:14 PDT
I assume you have the latest firewire 2.5 software version?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article2.html?artnum=58642&SaveKCWindowURL=http%3A%2F%2Fkbase.info.apple.com%2Fcgi-bin%2FWebObjects%2Fkbase.woa%2Fwa%2FSaveKCToHomePage&searchMode=Expert&kbhost=kbase.info.apple.com&showButton=false&randomValue=100&showSurvey=true&sessionID=anonymous|132841007
.
I used iMovie version 1 to connect with OS 9.1 to connect to
somebody's DV cam at a party. iMovie seems to do it seemlessly, just
hook up the camera and capture. But maybe that's just luck.
.
I assume too that in your desparation you have the latest system OS
9.2? and have tried iMovie Apple's proprietory DV software with
Apple's firewire port. I tried looking to see if the latest firmware
updates did anything for video capture but only seem to aid
recognising fireware drives and the ability to boot off a firewire
drive... but it might be worth seeing if you have the latest firmware?
.
For AGP G4 Macs
http://docs.info.apple.com/article2.html?artnum=88009&SaveKCWindowURL=http%3A%2F%2Fkbase.info.apple.com%2Fcgi-bin%2FWebObjects%2Fkbase.woa%2Fwa%2FSaveKCToHomePage&searchMode=Expert&kbhost=kbase.info.apple.com&showButton=false&randomValue=100&showSurvey=true&sessionID=anonymous|132841679
|
Hello kaiserwilhelm,
I agree with you - digital video can be very frustrating at times.
Things are beginning to get better, but compatibility issues are still
frequent enough to make us all tear our hair out!
Your particular problem seems to be intensified by the fact that your
video camera is an older first-generation model, and your digital
video software is also older. Plus, with Digital Origins out of
business, the downloads, improvements and customer support seem to
have disappeared as well.
But you know all of this. I have done quite a bit of research for you
and have come up with a list of possible solutions. The biggest
problem appears to be that the Digital Origins software products do
not appear to work with the OHCI Firewire hardware setup of the G4 450
(and 500). This includes both the built-in card and the Digital
Origins card (DO was formerly Radius). According to an article titled
"Common solutions to no controls/no preview with DO products," Apple
will be "updating some code to correct this issue in the near future,
but it's still a gray area," however I have no idea if this was ever
resolved since EditDV has been discontinued. I would actually suggest
uninstalling the Radius firewire card and then trying iMovie to see if
it is able to recognize your palmcorder through the G4s default
firewire card. I'm not able to find anything which verifies that
iMovie is compatible with the VL-PD1, but this site does state that it
is compatible with the VL-PD3:
http://macgroup.org/sigs/dvcam.html
Here are some more alternative solutions for Mac desktops with the
DO/Radius Firewire card as suggested by John Suit from Digital
Origin's technical support team in his article "Common solutions to no
controls/no preview with DO products" which I also referenced above.
- "Make sure the FireWire Enabler extension is disabled in Extension
Manager"
- "Make sure you have the proper Rad extensions for your product" -
see article for specific extensions for your version of EditDV
- "If using Quicktime 4.0.x, make sure the Quicktime FireWire DV
Enabler is disabled in the extension manager" Other sites have
recommended upgrading to the most recent version of Quicktime.
- "If you have Conflict Catcher, you must either sort the load order
alphabetically, make sure Quicktime loads before the Rad extensions,
or uninstall Conflict Catcher from the install CD-ROM"
- Be sure you have the latest version of ATI Resource manager or
disable this extension.
- Turn off Virtual Memory
http://yopu.com/cinestream/trouble1.html
You didn't mention what version of EditDV you are running, but if you
are running 1.6 or earlier, there is a free driver download available:
"Mac OS extensions for supporting G4, iMacDV and PowerBook built-in
FireWire ports. Apple FireWire 2.3.3 is required (included in Mac OS
9.0.4). Prerequisites: EditDV 1.6.1 or earlier." Date 1/3/2002
http://www.discreet.com/support/cinestream/download/download.php3#CineStream/EditDV
(cinestream, by the way, is the current version of EditDV)
If none of the above solutions work for you can you please post a
request for clarification which includes information on which OS are
you using and which version of EditDV you own. I want to make sure
that you find a resolution to your problem.
Search Terms:
radius 1394 firewire card
editdv g4 firewire
g4 editdv compatibility
Good luck and hope this helps! Please let me know if you need further
assistance.
inquisitive-ga |
Request for Answer Clarification by
kaiserwilhelm-ga
on
11 Jul 2002 19:46 PDT
inquisitive-ga,
Thanks for all the research. I am at work right now and will go home
this weekend to test out all the stuff you said. I must admit, some of
it looks promising.
I will let you know, via a "request" how it turned out. If I can
FINALLY get video through this sucker I will so gladly pay the $50.
Let's just hope it works.
(If I do get video you will be the first to know when you see FIVE
stars next to the answer.)
kaiserwilhelm
|
Clarification of Answer by
inquisitive-ga
on
13 Jul 2002 20:59 PDT
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one of those suggestions works for
you. If not, please let me know.
inquisitive-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
kaiserwilhelm-ga
on
16 Jul 2002 18:32 PDT
Inquisitive-ga,
I am running OS 9.2.1 on one machine and OSX on another. I have EditDV
version 1.6
I am at my WITS end! I have installed Imovie, EditDV, Final Cut Pro 3,
and Strato something or other. (All programs with a "capture"
feature.)
I have tried the extensions solution...high hopes, but no such luck. I
tried each solution on each machine, just to make sure it was not OSX
or something like that doing it to me.
I found what you had to say about early G4's with the sawtooth having
a problem with OHCI rather insightful. I had never read that....and
believe me, I have SCOURED the web. As I said, I have been at this for
over 18 months.
Please post anything else you might find. I think the OHCI approach is
where we need to be headed??? Again, let me say I appreciate all you
are doing in the way of research. If we get this puppy running (WITH
ANY card or ANY software, then you get the $50. I will not screw you
out of that....
kaiserwilhelm
|
Clarification of Answer by
inquisitive-ga
on
16 Jul 2002 18:50 PDT
Hello kaiserwilhelm,
I'd be most happy to search for some other possible solutions for you,
but first (since you didn't mention it in your clarification request)
did you try downloading the updated EditDV driver from Cinestream?
From my earlier answer: "there is a free driver download available:
"Mac OS extensions for supporting G4, iMacDV and PowerBook built-in
FireWire ports. Apple FireWire 2.3.3 is required (included in Mac OS
9.0.4). Prerequisites: EditDV 1.6.1 or earlier." Date 1/3/2002
http://www.discreet.com/support/cinestream/download/download.php3#CineStream/EditDV
"
Also, which firewire card were you using for your tests this weekend?
The original one which came with your Mac or the Radius card you
installed with EditDV? Since the best plan of action, I think, is to
go back to your original OHCI Firewire setup (now that some of the
original problems with it have solutions) which means you may want to
try removing the Radius card in favor of your original setup.
One more thing - do you have the video camera plugged in and set to
VTR when you try to connect? Don't run the video camera off the
battery!
Thanks for your clarification,
inquisitive-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
kaiserwilhelm-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 09:24 PDT
I did the download that you said. I have used two different machines
with 3 different firewire options.
I used the radius alone.
I used the built in firewire on the G4 (No card to pull in or out)
I used a separate firewire card from Pinnacle...probably for a PC
I am very Mac savy. I have worked on Macs for Pre-press for the past
eight years. I have pulled extensions, rearranged extension, etc.
I think your ideas are EXCELLENT, but I am beginning to think that
built in firewire machines do not support OHCI firewire stuff.
I will try anything else you might have.
I will admit I have been using the battery, not the ac cord. I will
try that approach this weekend.
|
Clarification of Answer by
inquisitive-ga
on
22 Jul 2002 18:19 PDT
Hi kaiserwilhelm,
Boy, what a tough problem. Maybe someday firewire will become the
"Plug and Play" solution that it is supposed to be...
If plugging your camcorder into AC power doesn't work (that's the
trick I have to use with mine), them I'm beginning to run out of
ideas. Here are a few more tips/suggestions/possibles scoured from the
Web:
1)This Mac G4/450 user has had all sorts of problems with his firewire
ports. He finally came to the conclusion that static discharge may
have "fried" the external firewire ports (or that they aren't working
for some other reason), so he connected his camcorder to the INTERNAL
third firewire port with success.
http://macedition.com/feat/dvd/feat_dvd_20020305.php
2) Hmmm You could try another capture/editing program, though I
hesitate to recommend throwing more money into something which has a
good chance at not working. According to Adobe Software, Adobe
Premiere 5.1c offers FireWire-based digital video (DV) capture, device
control, playback, and export to tape with no additional hardware
using Power Macintosh G3 and G4 systems equipped with FireWire ports.
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/pdfs/dvfirewirefaq.pdf
They have a free 30-day trial download of Premiere 6 available. Of
course, this is assuming that the 6.0 version contains the same G4
compatibility as the 5.1c version:
http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.html#premiere
If you choose this option, then you should also read this article -
"Optimizing Mac OS for Working with DV in Premiere 6.0x"
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/29b0a.htm
If you're going to put more money into this, however, you'd probably
find it better spent on a new camcorder. Sharp's camcorders are not
even listed in the compatibility lists of most dv products, and
Sharp's support of their cameras appears to be lacking as well.
3) It sounds as if your Mac G4 should definitely be able to use
firewire, so you may want to test another firewire device to see if it
works - that way you can narrow down whether the problem is with the
camera or on the firewire port/software side. If you can't borrow such
a device, maybe you could take your computer into an Apple store for
this (as suggested in the article mentioned earlier).
4) Install the latest version of the firmware (please excuse the long
URL):
http://kbase.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/kbase.woa/wa/query?val=88009&nodes=&type=smartSearch&dateModified=&geography=
5) "There may be a 3rd party extension conflicting with the Apple
FireWire extensions. The best way to determine this is to use the Mac
OS base extensions set. If the problem stops after booting with this
set, you have an extension conflict and you will have to track down
the offending extension." (plus any required firewire extensions)
http://www.orangemicro.com/orangelinkmacfaqs.html#Anchor-On-49575
6) Make sure AppleTalk is turned off. Disable Norton Utilities,
Conflict Catcher, or any third party software package that runs in the
background.
7) "with MacOS 9.0, is that you may need the "PACE USB Floppy Enabler"
extension if you're running one of apps which require a software keys
and you're running all this on a Mac with USB built-in. This is
downloadable from PACE's website and there is a link to it on our
website, under Support, and Downloads." This is from that same
troubleshooting article I passed you onto the last time.
http://yopu.com/cinestream/trouble1.html
Here's the link to the PACE patch:
http://www.paceap.com/usb_enablerm.html
This page from the Digital Origin Web site in the Internet Archive
says that their products do NOT support your camcorder:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010331173152/www.digitalorigin.com/products/compat/dvqualifiedcam.html
From the Digital Origin site I also determined that the download I
pointed you to earlier for Cinestream is the one that offers support
for the OHCI card in the G4.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010331190130/www.digitalorigin.com/support/download.html
Do you have G4 model M7631 or M7826? If so, they actually use G3
Firewire ports, not G4. Check this article from Apple to determine the
difference between models (please excuse the long URL):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58418&SaveKCWindowURL=http%3A%2F%2Fkbase.info.apple.com%2Fcgi-bin%2FWebObjects%2Fkbase.woa%2Fwa%2FSaveKCToHomePage&searchMode=Generic&kbhost=kbase.info.apple.com&showButton=false&randomValue=100&showSurvey=true&sessionID=anonymous|139217267
Let me know what you think about these suggestions...I'll post another
clarification update if I find anything new.
inquisitive-ga
|
