Connecting HVX200 to PC

[Torquil Fleming-Boyd]

Hi there,

I am new on this forum. Am a DP and have just bought this camera for my partners company to do some extreme filming etc. Secondhand camera and we have NO P2 cards.

We are demented trying to connect it to a PC laptop to capture the MiniDV tape output to Premiere. (CS4)

Have read all the manuals, all the posts here and everywhere else on the web. Perhaps 20 hours of trying things.

Setup: Windows laptop running XP. Drivers, viewer all installed. Connects with USB and completes driver install.
Connected firewire. (tried every possibility) Most promising is when we hold mode button in PC/Dub mode on PC not tape selection and in Windows Device Manager we can see that the camera mounts for about 2 seconds and then disconnects. (all other cominations nothing happens on PC)
Its listed under the devices as: Unknown Vendor and Model IEEE 1394 SBP2 device. The driver files here are all windows drivers. Have searched on the web for a specific firewire driver for HVX and no sign.

Have not attempted to upgrade the firmware.
(NLE is Premiere CS4)



Questions:
Can you capture MiniDV footage using USB without P2 cards? (Lots of info on web saying you cannot capture over USB?)
Has anyone managed to capture MiniDV to PC without P2 cards using firewire?

(plan is to start using cards as soon as we can get hold of some cheap(er) second hand ones but we need to get this going for some jobs next week)

Thanks so much for your time. We are almost defeated here.

Warmest Regards

TQ
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www.cinetq.com (http://www.cinetq.com)

[Barry_Green]

If you're not using P2, you don't need any drivers or anything like that. But no, you most definitely cannot use USB.

Instead, put the camera in TAPE mode, then go to VCR mode. Connect to the computer via 1394 firewire. Premiere Pro should just recognize it and start working.

[Torquil Fleming-Boyd]

We have tried this but the HVX will not connect to the laptop over firewire in Tape mode. We have tried 3 different laptops ( 2 X XP and 1 running Vista)

It will only connect briefly in PC mode and then bums out.

Connects fine using USB.

Do you know if folks have had success connecting to PC over firewire to capture tape with no P2 cards in camera?

IEEE 1394 is not supposed to be supported for PC. So I am wondering what the options are for connecting the camera to a PC if you have no P2 cards?

Thanks again for your quick reply!

TQ
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www.cinetq.com

[otari_99]

I've captured from the hvx over 1394 many times without issue (with or without P2 cards in the camera). Have you tried capturing from another camera on your 1394 port?

[Torquil Fleming-Boyd]

Hi
Thanks for quick reply. When you were capturing....was this on a PC? Have as yet not tried another camera...however I have checked the firewire connection and that is working! Many thanks look forward to your reply....TQ

[Barry_Green]

You cannot, under any circumstances, use USB with tape. The USB is *only* for use with the camera as a P2 card reader.

1394 is supported on Windows for streaming. It is the only way you will be able to get the data off that tape.

1394 is not supported on Windows for file transfer.

The only way to work with tape is to put that switch in the TAPE position, put the camera in VCR mode (NOT PC or DUB mode, but VCR), and connect via 1394. There are no two ways around it.

If you can't see the camera as an A/V device when it's connected that way, then you have to check all the usual suspects - is your firewire port working? Is your cable good? Is the firewire port on the computer working? Because those are the only ways it will work.

[mrheiser]

My panasonic ag-hvx200 in p2 mode when connected to a PC via firewire (Windows XP) shows up as a dv tape recorder/player instead of a dv camcorder. I would like to be able to capture video from the camera directly to premiere. This works when the camera is set to tape, but not when set to P2. MACs have no problem at this, but Windows seems to see the device as a player instead of a camcorder. Any ideas?

[Luis_]

I capture to my windows vista dell laptop from my HVX200a like almost every day. Don't expect to see the camera like you would a thumb drive. Go to the menu in the camera and set it to "1394 Device" not "USB Device" and not "host" then still in the menu in the camera
set the DEVICE CONTROL to "BOTH" connect the FireWire to the computer and make sure that premier is not open. Turn on your camera. Press the button on the back next to the word MCR like if you were going to watch your tape on the camera. If you get any dialogue boxes on your computer screen, dismiss them all. Then open PREMIER. then in Premier open up the capture
screen and press play on the camera. You should see what's playing out of the camera on that capture screen