HDV Capture Mystery
 

I'm a little stumped. So I was hoping to get a little insight from some of you experts. Follow me:

I recently purchased a new computer to do HDV capturing and editing. The camera is a Sony HVR-HD1000U. Computer is a Gateway Dx4300-03.

For some reason, I can only get a few minutes of HDV capture before the stream 'stops'. The capture stops, capture preview screen goes black, and camera continues to play. I've tried Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, and Sony Vegas software and they all do the exact same thing.

Here are the facts:

- I can capture HDV on other computers...just not my new one. So it's not the camera.
- I CAN capture footage on my new computer if I set the firewire to 'squeeze' and capture in DV instead of HDV.
- I've tried changing tapes and changing the firewire cable.
- I've updated Windows and drivers. I even reloaded windows to factory default. Nothing helped.

Here are my computer spec:

Processor: AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core Processor 9750 (2.4GHz)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
Memory: 8GB DDR2 Dual Channel Memory
Hard Drive: 1TB 1000GB SATA 7200 rpm hard drive
Video: ATI Radeon HD 4650 Graphics
External Ports: (8) USB 2.0 ports (4 Front, 4 Rear), IEEE 1394a, VGA, (2) PS/2 Ports, HDMI,
(6) Audio Ports
Motherboard: System board with AMD 780G Chipset
TV Tuner: Hybrid TV Tuner (Ports: (1) Coax, (1) S-Video and (1) Stereo Mini-Jack Audio)
Optical Drive: 18X DVD+/-R/RW Super Multi Drive
Power Supply: 300W Power Supply

Please help if you can. Thanks in advance.

That you get a few minutes of successful capture before it fails leads me to think that it's either your CPU or your HDD.

Generally, Intel chips are recommended, but even a quad-core AMD should be fine. And it's not ideal to have only one HDD; you should at least have one for programs and OS and another for captured/imported files. A third for output, or a large RAID, would be better still.

These are just guesses, though. What version of Premiere, Vegas, etc.?

Thanks for the reply. I am using an external HDD for capturing. I'm using the most recent versions of all the editing software.

I have an update. After lots of reading online, I decided to examine the driver for my 1394 port. The driver is dated 2006, but windows insisted that no update is available for it. I downloaded the Jmicron 1394 driver from the hp website (Gateway didn't offer any such download) and installed it. After updating this driver, all of my editing software was able to detect and playback my HD footage (I used to have to 'trick' the software by pressing play on the camera first etc.) and I was able to capture my HDV without it stopping on me!

So I guess that was the problem. Unfortunately, my computer crashed after windows attempted to install updates at shutdown. I'm not sure if that was b/c of the new driver or the 50 other things that I tried to correct the video problem. I'm restoring the computer to factory and trying again. I'll update you when I'm finished. Thanks.

Interesting. While I wouldn't necessarily have thought that was it, I'm glad the new driver solved your problem.

Capturing to an external HDD is usually the cause of the symptoms you describe, and would have been the first thing I'd have pointed to if that had been part of the original info. Generally, the USB interface isn't fast enough for reliable capture -- if USB is what you're using -- although many people report success with this workflow.

Anyway, glad you got it sorted out.

If for some reason the problem recurs, we'll still need to know more info about the editors you are using. Premiere Pro or Elements? Vegas Movie Studio or Pro? And while you say you're using the most recent versions, and I believe you, the numbers are important, as is whether it is the paid or trial version.

All moot points now, I suppose.

I hadn't thought of the external HD being the problem. But I just finished the system restore and reinstalled the new 1394 driver. My PC isn't crashing and I am capturing my HDV footage with no problem.

The software is Pinnacle HD Collection 14 full version, Pinnacle 12 full version, Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 trial, Adobe Premiere Elements 9 full version, and HDVSplit 0.77 freeware. Thanks for the insight and I hope that this helps someone else.