HELP!!! DV out stopped working?!!

R

Rob333

Active member
Hey all; I just used my firewire connection to my system 2 days ago. Went to capture some new footage last night; now niether my PC, MAC or Laptop PC see any device at firewire?!!!

Did it just die? The Composite outputs work, (and I am assuming the Svideo still does as well) but I use Firewire for EVERYTHING! Is a Repair in order.. Did I hit a switch I may be unaware of?
I checked all menu settings in camera... Says" DV out "ON".

I am HOPING it is "something simple".

Any ideas? And if I have to get it repaired, how much do you think it costs?
Also suggestions of where to send? I don't know of any LOCAL DVX100 repair places around here, in NH:( Send to Panasonic?

THanx; Rob:)
 
My be an obvious answer but....


make sure that your dvx is set to VCR mode when its plugged in. Your computer may not recognize it unless its in VCR.
 
I am hoping it will be obvious....

YES; I usually capture in VCR mode, to get what I recorded on tape.

My computers also see it in Camera mode as a LIVE feed.

Unfortunately, that isn't it...

But Thanx:)
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:( I am suspecting the first firewire cable or computer connection maybe faulty and it fried the DV firewire port on the DVX camera:( I had used it on another system the last time, but now it doesn't connect to any of them:(((((

I assume it is possible...I am wishing it weren't:(
 
My next question...if (likely), the DV post IS busted...
In the meantime, if I want to capture the footage through the Composite/Svideo...How much quaility am I going to loose instead of the digital output. Like I said, I have always only used the DV port for capture.

I suppose I can still film with the camera, put tape in another (cheaper) dv cam to transfer the footage to my computers. Then send out my poor DVX100 out for repair....

Why does this stuff always happen on the weekend???? When there is no tech support?...argh:(
 
Any luck figuring out this problem? I am having the same issue. DVX won't connect to laptop, or either of my desktops, which all have worked in the past. I have tried everything I can think of.

4 different cables, got a new capture card, and tried on every computer with no luck. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
haha crazy **** but i have this too. went into a university last night to test on different computers and the camera might detect with a little fiddling of the firewire cable, but never can hold the connection long enough to capture footage (only last 5-6 seconds if its lucky enough to pickup at all).

Don't like the idea of having to send camera away for the damn DV port but looks that way
 
There has been a lot of posts about this and the DVX. It seems a common issue is people powering their dvx up then plugging the fw cable in. This is a NO NO. Just in case anyone is doing this, please ensure you: connect the FW to the DVX with no power source i.e. no battery no power. Once your FW is in then attach the battery or power cable and power your DVX up.
 
Rob333 said:
My next question...if (likely), the DV post IS busted...
In the meantime, if I want to capture the footage through the Composite/Svideo...How much quaility am I going to loose instead of the digital output. Like I said, I have always only used the DV port for capture.

I suppose I can still film with the camera, put tape in another (cheaper) dv cam to transfer the footage to my computers. Then send out my poor DVX100 out for repair....

Why does this stuff always happen on the weekend???? When there is no tech support?...argh:(
Click to expand...

I don't believe you are loosing any quality by capturing over the Svideo port. In another thread about setting up multicameras with a video switcher I was informed by Mikko that Composite is actually a better way to go but I believe that you can't control the camera that way and that's why it's not mainly used
 
thats why i use my good ol sony DCR HC65 to capture all my footage, better on the dvx heads anyways. And yeah, the firewire port used to be snug as a bug, snug as two bugs a huggin, but now i put it in, its like throwing a hot dawg down a hallway.
 
Damn. Connected firewire to PC (while PC on), connected firewire to DVX (off with no battery), connected battery to dvx, turned on dvx, inserted minidv tape, switched to VCR mode, and camera still not detecting. Is this process correct? If so, probably have to send into panasonic shop wherever they are around here to get fixed?
 
I've heard rumors that if you put the firewire cable upside down into the card on the PC/Mac, it will fry the camera output. At least that's what happened to my poor Sony handycam (got it fixed on warranty, not aware of the fact that it was my mistake...)

Some easy notes about connecting with firewire:

ALWAYS power up the camera after connecting.
ALWAYS make sure the cable is straight into the camera (not bent in any way).
ALWAYS insert it very carefully into the camera (pins inside break easily).
NEVER force it into the computer upside down... :)


Anyway, get a cheap camcorder and capture from that.
 
This may be a stupid suggestion but, did you try with another cable/computer?
Just to make sure before you send your DVX for repair.
 
tried with another PC and also two mac's. waiting to borrow another firewire cable hopefully tomorrow. dont have any other camera to test this firewire cable with. also didn't force it in upside down haha.

thanks for advice
 
Well it looks like the firewire port on my DVX is definitely fried. I tried it on 4 different computers(and 3 different cables) without any luck. I also have a PD170 that wasn't connecting either.

I had a buddy bring over a vx2100 and it recognized just fine. So my computers we're fine, meaning the cameras are at fault.

Last time I went through the airport I had both my DVX and PD170, which were both taken out of bags and inspected with wands by security. Never have had to do this before. However, both cameras worked fine on my computers before then, and now neither of them work. Just a super freak thing to blow out both firewire ports, or could a possible static surge from a security wand have possibly caused this?

Either way, it looks like quite a common occurance for the DVX firewire port to blow out.
 
i had this same thing happen. it's actually one of the reasons i came to this forum.
could anyone please let me know if they got if fixed, where to send it, and how much it costed?? hopefully not too much because i am still a poor college student.
 
firewire problems

firewire problems

Yep its a no no with any camera, to plugin or unplug the camera while it is powered up.
Lots of people think that firewire is hot swapable and for most hardrives and other devices it is but with cameras you should never do this. I support different high shcools and their always blowing up the firewire ports on their cameras wether there sony or jvc or panasonic. Plug in first and then power up the camera and then power up your computer jsut to be safe. I've seen 10 cameras and a bunch of macs and pc lose their firewire ports this way. There must be something thats hot about this process that dosn't have a buffer built in. We put a firewire hub between the computers and the cameras and this seems to have cured the problem. We used self powered hubs that have protection built in. We haven't seen any blown cameras since we introduced this in the schools.
 
analog capture won't be too bad. I would go for that if i was in a rush.

from this post i learn this issue about frying the DV port is bigger than i thought before. but also i've heard it was reported happening just with Macs. But some here had the same prob with PC?

Andrea
 
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