FCP 5.1 "unable to initialize" Sony HDR-HC3 camcorder at DVinfo.net

Craig Terott · April 19th, 2006, 04:55 PM

I've probably logged over 500 hours of DV captures - so I'm not new at this. I am only new to HDV capture though and I'm stuck now.

I have the latest FCP 5.1 and OSX Tiger and all latest updates and still FCP is unable to intialize. I've done restarts of coarse and I launch FCP with camera connected and ON and camera set to "Play/Edit." Capture preset is HDV 1080i60. I also tried HDV 1080i60 Firewire Basic. No Luck. Computer's firewire port works because drives will mount to it no problem. HC3 camera is properly set for HDV output - not Coversion to DV.

Anyone have any ideas what the problem could be? Is the camera so new that it's not recognized by FCP? What's the deal? I figured FCP5.1 would handle this and still I've yet to capture 1 second of HDV.

Craig Terott · April 22nd, 2006, 08:16 AM

Still having problems. "Unable to intialize" again.

Used easy setup. Nothing seems to work. I've got hours & hours into this.

Craig Terott · April 22nd, 2006, 10:26 AM

I feel like I'm just talking to myself - perhaps I am. But in the event this post actually saves someone else agrevation I guess it may be a help.

Solution: Trashed QT and QT.7.0.4 receipts. Empty trash. Reboot. Download QT, re-install, reboot. Seems to be working reliably now.

Jamie Hellmich · April 22nd, 2006, 02:26 PM

Sorry, couldn't say much, don't have FCP or an HC 3.

Jamie

Paulo Teixeira · April 22nd, 2006, 08:39 PM

You say you have captured over 500 hours of DV and my question is did you try capturing a DV signal from your HC3 as well? It could be that your camera has a defective fire-wire port although you did say that the drives are recognized.

I would keep the camera on Play while it’s hooked up to the computer to see if their will be video on the computer’s monitor.

Jeff DeMaagd · April 22nd, 2006, 10:12 PM

HDV transfers on the Mac can be pretty finicky, enough that it's a bit disappointing. Should anyone else experience problems and that solution doesn't work, then remove any third party add-in firewire cards, if installed.

I couldn't get my HC1 to transfer HDV, even if I'm not using the add-in card's ports. What I do is to kill the video software, plug in the camera when it is off, turn it on, put it in VTR mode, then start the video software. Usually that does the trick.

Check to see if the System Information panel sees the camera under the Firewire entry.

Try transferring DV.

Craig Terott · April 24th, 2006, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira

You say you have captured over 500 hours of DV and my question is did you try capturing a DV signal from your HC3 as well? It could be that your camera has a defective fire-wire port although you did say that the drives are recognized.

I would keep the camera on Play while it’s hooked up to the computer to see if their will be video on the computer’s monitor.

I definately had the camera output set for HDV not DV. My point with the "over 500 hours" comment (which is probably over a 1K hours now that I think about it) was that I'm not new at this and I was probably not making a silly mistake.

I keep the camera on play usually prior to lauching FCP 5.1.

Craig Terott · April 24th, 2006, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff DeMaagd

HDV transfers on the Mac can be pretty finicky, enough that it's a bit disappointing.

It's seems to be working well now and I think the issues are primarily with software installs and the big thing is that for FC Studio to be fully functional QT7 needs to be installed last.

You'd think that if Apple knows they have an issue with QT/connectivity after operating system upgrade or upgrade to FC Studio that they could easily just make the last step a re-install of QT or someting else that gets the same results?

Boyd Ostroff · April 24th, 2006, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Terott

Solution: Trashed QT and QT.7.0.4 receipts.

Sounds like it could this same problem? http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=49838

Craig Terott · April 24th, 2006, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Sounds like it could this same problem? http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=49838

Yes - however apple's support page only says to trash the receipts and reinstall. Following that process "to the letter" I was only able to restore my SD camera connectivity and FCP 5.1 would STILL NOT SEE MY HDV camera. I tried probably 15-20 times. Reboots galore, relaunches of FCP, still did not work.

Here's what I did to get HDV capture working... trash QT receipts, Trash QT application file, empty trash, reboot, install QT7. I now have HDV capture working reliably. I hope this thread saves someone some aggravation!

April 19th, 2006, 04:55 PM	#1
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	FCP 5.1 "unable to initialize" Sony HDR-HC3 camcorder I've probably logged over 500 hours of DV captures - so I'm not new at this. I am only new to HDV capture though and I'm stuck now. I have the latest FCP 5.1 and OSX Tiger and all latest updates and still FCP is unable to intialize. I've done restarts of coarse and I launch FCP with camera connected and ON and camera set to "Play/Edit." Capture preset is HDV 1080i60. I also tried HDV 1080i60 Firewire Basic. No Luck. Computer's firewire port works because drives will mount to it no problem. HC3 camera is properly set for HDV output - not Coversion to DV. Anyone have any ideas what the problem could be? Is the camera so new that it's not recognized by FCP? What's the deal? I figured FCP5.1 would handle this and still I've yet to capture 1 second of HDV.

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April 22nd, 2006, 08:16 AM	#2
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	Still having problems. "Unable to intialize" again. Used easy setup. Nothing seems to work. I've got hours & hours into this.

April 22nd, 2006, 10:26 AM	#3
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	I feel like I'm just talking to myself - perhaps I am. But in the event this post actually saves someone else agrevation I guess it may be a help. Solution: Trashed QT and QT.7.0.4 receipts. Empty trash. Reboot. Download QT, re-install, reboot. Seems to be working reliably now.

April 22nd, 2006, 02:26 PM	#4
Jamie Hellmich Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ormond Beach, FL Posts: 105	Sorry, couldn't say much, don't have FCP or an HC 3. Jamie

April 22nd, 2006, 08:39 PM	#5
Paulo Teixeira Trustee Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,773	You say you have captured over 500 hours of DV and my question is did you try capturing a DV signal from your HC3 as well? It could be that your camera has a defective fire-wire port although you did say that the drives are recognized. I would keep the camera on Play while it’s hooked up to the computer to see if their will be video on the computer’s monitor.

April 22nd, 2006, 10:12 PM	#6
Jeff DeMaagd Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, MI, USA Posts: 202	HDV transfers on the Mac can be pretty finicky, enough that it's a bit disappointing. Should anyone else experience problems and that solution doesn't work, then remove any third party add-in firewire cards, if installed. I couldn't get my HC1 to transfer HDV, even if I'm not using the add-in card's ports. What I do is to kill the video software, plug in the camera when it is off, turn it on, put it in VTR mode, then start the video software. Usually that does the trick. Check to see if the System Information panel sees the camera under the Firewire entry. Try transferring DV.