V1 not detected by Mac

[Chris Barrows]

I realize this problem has probably been posted PRIOR to mine. With that in mind, I hope you'll take the time to read what I've done and suggest anything that may help me.

I recently purchased a new I-Mac with Final Cut Pro. I checked the compatibility with FCP prior to making the purchase, assuming that if it worked with FCP, it shouldn't have any issues with the Mac itself.

The version of FCP, to clarify, is the most recent version. Having hooked up the camera to the Mac, it was not detected. I did check if the camera was detected under the firewire port. No such luck.

Immediately, I went on to check every function possible from the firewire cable to the port. I hooked up my 800 speed firewire Lacie drive and that hooked up no problem. The fire wire cables themselves were checked out by with a hard drive previously. I also checked the camera with multiple computers and different fire wire connections.

I also tried some recommended settings that I found for the camera out put. Still no such luck. Please go ahead and ask me any questions or make any suggestions you can, as any help is appreciated. I have approximately 5 weddings coming up over the course of the next 3.5 months and can't afford a DV deck at this time.

[Ethan Cooper]

If and when you can actually get the computer to see the camera at all, remember to capture using the firewire basic easy setup. For some reason my Sony stuff acts better when using firewire basic.

As to why your computer isn't seeing the camera at all I'm not sure what to tell you.

[Chris Barrows]

Thanks for the advice. If anyone is able to help me out or I"m able to figure out what the problem is, I'll make sure to do that.

[Dwain Elliott]

The obvious (yet simplistic) answer is that the camcorder has a bad firewire port.

[Andrew Smith]

It could also be that the camera menu settings are still for HDV out of the firewire port by default, whereas the software is currently configured to expect and control a regular DV stream.

Let us know if / how this resolves.

Andrew

[Jeff Allen]

I had some similar problems initially as well. Then had some intermittent connection issues, but then my V1U to FCP connection has been rock solid since. As mentioned earlier, definitely check your camera settings and ensure that they are set to export correctly.

You can also check out this article create an easy setup that may help you:
FCP: Capture from Sony V1U Final Cut Pro

I had created an easy setup myself from a different article that was excellent, but I am not able to find it right now. However, that one may do the trick for you.

I am not at my editing system right now, or near my V1U, but I will try to repost with my specific settings later in the day if your issue has not already been resolved.

Good Luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

[Jeff Allen]

Of course, right after I posted, I found the article that I used, that includes some downloadable Easy Setup configurations, as well as some other helpful information:
http://www.moviola.com/hdv_prores

Let me know if this or the previous information solves the problem. If not, then I will pull my specific camera and FCP settings and list them for you.

I know that when I had my initial problems I had to play with these settings, as well as perform a couple of reboots to get everything working. As mentioned it has been pretty rock solid for me over the last 6-9 mos. However, it was very frustrating initially.

[Jeff Allen]

I was able to get to my camera and editing system earlier than expected, so I thought I would post my settings just in case it helps:

with camera in VCR mode:
In the In/Out Rec Menu:
VCR HDV/DV setting to: "Auto"
ensure iLink Convert is set to: "Off"

In my Easy Setup:
Sequence Preset: Apple ProRes 422 1440X1080 60i 48kHz (dependent upon your capture settings)
Capture Preset: HDV-Apple ProRes 422
Device Control Preset: Sony HDV FireWire
Playback Output Video: None
Playback Output Audio: Default
Edit to Tape/PTV Output Video: None
Edit to Tape/PTV Output Audio: Default
(I don't typically output the sequences back to tape)

I created a specific Easy Setup named "HVR-V1U" under the "HD" format so that I can select this when using my V1U (I created similar for my other cameras)

Granted, when I capture, it captures the tape from the current tape location on the camera, and then automatically detects scene breaks and separates those into individual clips during the capture process via log and capture, so you can't actually "log" the clips using this method, but it works well for me. It will continue to capture the entire tape, unless you press the "esc" key on your keyboard.

My process is: Connect the camera, start the Mac, turn on the camera, start FCP (ensure that the proper Easy Setup is active), select "Log and Capture" from the "File" menu, Enter a file name as requested in the dialog box, select "Capture", and you will hopefully be capturing your video.

Hope this helps. May not be the best method, but it was the one that I found works every time, and therefore I have stuck with it.

[Chris Barrows]

I'm going to try those. As for the person earlier who said bad firewire port, not the case...I have a 1 TB 800 speed fire wire hard drive and that works no problem. The firewire cables that I have are also tested using a friend's hard drive.

I'm going to try some of these suggestions today and I'll post any results.

Thank you again. It's frustrating knowing the Mac should see it and isn't, so this could be a major help for me and save me some sanity.

[Adam Gold]

Originally Posted by Chris Barrows

I also checked the camera with multiple computers and different fire wire connections.

And? With what result? The cam was detected or it wasn't?

If it wasn't, then Dwain's earlier diagnosis of a blown FW port on the cam seems likely (he wasn't suggesting a blown port on the Mac, only on the cam). If it was, then undoubtedly you have an issue with your Mac.

Not saying this is your issue, but the most common reason for this is mismatched settings between NLE and cam. One is usually set to HDV while the other is DV, or something similar, as Andrew suggested.

[Charles Newcomb]

Did you try going to view, then clicking "refresh a/v devices?"

I think in older versions of FCP it say "refresh camera."

[Ethan Cooper]

Originally Posted by Chris Barrows

I'm going to try those. As for the person earlier who said bad firewire port, not the case...I have a 1 TB 800 speed fire wire hard drive and that works no problem. The firewire cables that I have are also tested using a friend's hard drive.

Someone said it two posts earlier but I wanted to make sure you were clear about this. The "blown port" in question is on your camera, not the computer. You very well could have a dead firewire port on the camera itself.

[Chris Barrows]

We ended up ripping carpet in my house yesterday, so I didn't get a chance. I'm going to push to test it out after a trip to the in-laws today.

As for the port on the camera, I've connected the camera up to my old editing computer(the PC based one) and it didn't seem to have an issue, so that led me to believe it wasn't a blown port...please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Chris Barrows]

Also, realized I should have mentioned the footage I'm trying to upload was shot in HD. I'm not trying to upload any HD footage at this time and want to be able to upload both.

I have both HD and non HD packages, thus I'll be dealing with both.

[Chris Barrows]

So I tried everything that was said, still not having any luck. Interesting note that I neglected to mention before...looking at the LCD display, it appears no solid connection can be made in all likelyhood because it's bouncing back and forth between DV IN and DV OUT.

This does NOT occur when connected to my PC, as it remains at one connection in that scenario.

The settings I have hooked up on the FCP side are what was recommended, but my concern remains the computer is not seeing the camera in the first place. Being a PC guy for so long, I'm not sure if i have to change settings somewhere else on the computer as well.

---
I should note on occasion with the settings, the camera on the computer will show up. When play is active on the camera, DV OUT blinks on the camera...no DV in, but not a solid DV out.