XDCAM /VISTA Question
 

Having problems with a new Windows Vista computer recognising my 330 XDCAM can anyone advise me is the procedure for connecting any different from how it was with a Windows XP computer,
Thanks.
Thomas

Thomas,

Make sure you have the latest version of the Prodisc driver from the Sony site. There was an update to the driver for Vista compatiblity. I know from experience. I use it with Vista Business Edition just fine.

regards,

-gb-

Greg I have deleted all the old Prodisc driver files and downloaded the latest, and still am having the same result, you say you are using Vista Business Edition I am on home premium are you or anyone on the board aware would the vista version make any difference to the computer not bring the XDCAM into the (disk drives) area of my computer,
Thanks for your input as I am getting no help on this from Sony, Microsoft, or Mesh, who I bought the computer from, each passing the buck

Are you sure the firewire port on your camera or computer are good. It could be the problem too. Could you try connecting the camera to an other computer to check?

Thierry.

Yes the firewire port is fine, as i can connect a fx1 no problem, Just to explain a bit more detail my 330 can be found under (other devices) in device manager with a small question mark in a circle beside it, I need to have it in the disks and hard drive area to use with Vegas pro,

If the computer is seeing it like that then it is most likely a driver issue.

I have spent two day deleting and installing the latest FAM drives from sony, I have disabled anti virus software and finally reinstalled a clean version of vista,and still not a jot of difference,
does anyone know can VISTA HOME PREMIUM can run the XDCAM in HD mode

Do you have the latest Service Pack for Windows Vista Home installed?

I think that is service pack 1, then yes that's what I have installed at the moment

Does Vista recognise the camera at all? i.e. in device manager when you plug the camera in, do you see any entry for it at all?

I recently struggled for a while trying to get a U1 to be properly recognised in Vista until I realised my U1 firmware was one version out of date - updating the firmware fixed the problem.

I'm wondering if it's a firmware/prodisc driver match problem - is your camera up to date with the latest firmware?

Just a guess but worth a go...


Paul.

Yes the camera can be recognised by vista and can be used in DVCAM mode



I have not got the latest camera firmware update i have been inquiring about this and I need something called a JIG, to update to the latest, any idea what a JIG is?

Thanks for your help I will try the firmware update when I get the firmware updated.
Thomas

Ah yes - a Jig is, from what I remember, a piece of hardware used on the very old firmware version cameras to enable a firmware update. I'm sure others more Knowledgeable of that subject can fill you in on that. I think there were a number of posts on it on this forum too - so a search may yield some results.

What exact version of firmware do you have in the camera?

My money is still on the incompatibility of firmware and prodisc drivers - but that's still a guess.

The jig was required if you want to use larger than 128mb memory sticks in your camera. There was an alternate Package version with the AT version release to be used if you don't want that functionality.

-gb-

Hello Greg ,
I have a 128mb memory stick, so I do not need the jig? can I upgrade from my current firmware (AT 1.60 PACKAGE 1.93) to the latest firmware, and can you please advise me on how I go about this.
Thomas

If you're at this firmware revision, you should be beyond the revision that required the jig. I believe it was back around AT 1.53/1.54 where the special jig was needed.

When you download the drivers, it will include a file that explains the process in detail and what changes/fixes are in the current version.

-gb-

Thanks for that info on firmware, I am now updated to version (AT 1.07 1.93) on my 330L and things are still the same HD footage can still not be taken from my 330L to the computer using Vista home premium, anyone any other ideas.
Thomas

Thomas,

AT: 1.07 - Package: 1.93 is not the latest firmware for your PDW-F330.

The latest version is AT: 1.70 - Package 1.96, and was released early this year.

https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/son...l-PDWF330.aspx

Had a weird thing happening myself yesterday using Windows Vista Ultimate. Pulled a back-up harddrive from the shelf, but I wasn't able to connect it with the firewire connection. The device manager sees the drive, but I can't get the data from it through firewire. As I connected it via the USB it worked fine. Hmmm strange.

Thanks Ivan
I have now upgraded to The latest version is AT: 1.70 - Package 1.96, and PDZ (Ver2-23 which has FAM drivers for vista support, but still no joy,
I cannot use the HD footage shot on the XDCAM
Anyone any other suggestions,

Or is anyone using XDCAM HD on a vista computer
Thomas

Yes I am, but it's Vista Business version. Other than that, I am using the F350 as opposed to the 330. We'll keep plugging away at it until you get it figured out.

-gb-

Wait a second. Do you have the iLink setting in your camera set to FAM mode? If AV/C, it won't transfer HD material, only streaming DVCAM.

Just wondering,

-gb-

Yes I have indeed Greg,
Its set for FAM, Just wondering is it my version of Vista, as you say you are on Vista Business version and having no issues, but I would like to be sure before spending any more loot
Thomas

Hi Thomas,
I have Vista Home with Vegas8 and XDCAM Viewer and everything works allright so it should work with you also.

No clou where to find the solution though...

sorry.

Thanks everyone, for their input on this, I got XDCAM HD and Vista home premium working as it did in XP by reinstalling a 32bit version of vista, Thanks to advice from German guy, on another forum (my computer had a 64bit version installed) (Sony have not yet released 64bit drivers for the f330 XDCAM for HD use with vista) and I was not aware until now about this 32/64bit thing
Thomas

Ah, if only you'd said it was 64 bit before - could have said it wasn't compatible with 64bit, even though the drivers will install!

Glad you got it sorted though :)

Yeah, we were missing that one little detail, else this thread might have been a bit shorter... DOH!

-gb-

Yea its always the little things you over look,
just couldn't find any reference on any searches I tried, here and a few other forums,that Sony did not provide XDCAM HD drivers for vista 64bit.

Thomas, I don't know if the 330 has an option to connect via ethernet cable, but if it does, you might want to explore this one. I have a PDW700 and have connected the camera directly to a 64bit vista machine via the ethernet protocols, then xfered files using the proxy browsing software, and also vegas 8.

Peter

Nope, the PDW-F3xx series don't have the option to connect via ethernet.

Is there any estimate that anyone has heard from Sony on when 64-bit drivers will be available?

More and more new computers are coming with 64-bit Vista by default, not to mention NLEs that are true 64-bit.

So just to summarize, currently if one uses a 64-bit OS, one can not install the FAM driver (in a working state) and therefore can not download or upload from/to the camera, and one can not use the U1 drive either for the same reason?

Does this also mean that MXF files stored on hard drives wouldn't work in a 64-bit OS currently, either?

Thanks.

xdcam HD files operate fine on my 64bit vista machine. I transfer them off a u1 drive connected to my 32 bit laptop which dumps directly onto my 64 bit machine via LAN. you could also write them to an external HDD and copy them that way.
That said, it's about time Sony released 64 bit drivers!!

Not tried my F350 directly connected to Vista 64 bit (ultimate), so can't comments about that but the U1 certainly doesn't work. Vista recognises the drive and if you install the prodisc drivers, they appear to install OK but they just don't work - i.e. the Sony structure doesn't display correctly so apps like PDZ-1 don't recognise the drive.

I agree that this is becoming more and more important to support 64bit. With the time it took to get the U1 write back firmware released (about a year I had the drive), I don't unfortunately hold out much hope :(

MXF files, however, do work perfectly well on Vista 64 bit, so no worries there :)

Paul.

I used that exact same trick to get my files onto 32 bit Vista before the Prodisc drivers were available for Vista. Ingest over iLink into laptop, then output to Vista machine over direct ethernet connection.

Sony tell me that the 64bit drivers should be available in September and the VFAM drivers in the new year.

Maybe I'm having a foggy moment, but what do you mean by VFAM Paul?

Well that's what I thought too.

This is what was said: "The VFAM driver really just gives the Professional Disc a “nice” look to the user (Clip, Sub, Edit, etc folders). Also it’s useful for some 3rd party software too." So I'm thinking that when browsing the disc, you'll see the actual structure rather than what we're used to (like when you have a Windows driver and U1 firmware mismatch, if you've ever seen that?).

Just thought I would update this thread since I was looking for Sony 64 bit drivers and could not find them. Maybe by 2010?

Well, there's been a recent-ish VFAM driver update but for 32 bit only - still waiting on the 64bit version - hopefully September is still a reality - but who knows?

Here are the 64 bit drivers:

https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/son...DRIVER220.aspx

https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/son...del-PDWU1.aspx

So if one has a 64-bit OS... But one uses both Vegas Pro 9 64-bit and 32-bit, since both can be installed at the same time, and there are still more third-party plug-ins and codecs that still only work in the 32-bit version...

Would the 64-bit FAM and VFAM drivers give support to both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Vegas?