Topic: DV Camera

[GillE]

Hi  folks

This is my first post, so be gentle with me  .

I have a Panasonic NV-DS27 digital video camera that I'm trying to hook up to my new-ish computer, a 3GHz WinXP machine with 1Gb RAM.  I connected the firewire connection and Win XP automatically detected and installed the hardware.  I then rebooted.

Unfortunately, none of my software will detect the camera.  I've got MS Moviemaker and Arcsoft ShowBiz software.  Can anyone suggest how I might persuade the software to recognise the hardware?

Gill

[Sandra]

Hi Gill and

Was the software installed before you installed the camera ?
Just a guess but maybe if it was then by uninstalling and reinstalling the software then it may pick it up ok.
I have a similar problem with some programs detecting my Labtec webcam as a Logitech for some reason, I think Microsoft has some kind of preference for Logitech, maybe its the same with Vid Cameras too  
Also have a look in the device manager and see if it shows it as being installed fully and as a Panasonic  

[Adept]

Have a look in the Device Manager (Control Panel | System | Hardware | Device Manager) to check there are no problems with the Firewire card. The Firewire node shouldn't have any yellow or red icons beneath its branch in the tree. If it does have any of these icons, the software will need to be re-installled.

Another thing you can try is to uninstall the Firewire software, move the card to a different PCI slot and reinstall the software.

Hope this helps!

[GillE]

Thanks for the help  .  The firewire network adapter in Device Manager seems to be okay.  I can't move the network card because the connector is actually integrated into the motherboard! (It's a MS-6758(v2.X) ATX Mainboard.)

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software too, all to no avail.  Ah well, I'll continue fiddling with it.  I suppose that's what makes having a computer so much fun .

What's really frustrating is that the computer is trying to communicate with the camera but it can't detect that the camera is switched on.

Gill

[Sandra]

Theres a patch for Panasonic cameras from Microsoft available here Gill :

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b669b2c-213d-46b6-b67b-b3f378118854&DisplayLang=en

Dont know if thats for your problem or not but may be worth a try  

Maybe if you can do a search for updated drivers for your camera and install them that may help too.
Did XP install its own drivers or did you install the Panasonic ones from a cd that came with your camera ?
If you have the option of XPs and Panasonics own then try replacing whichever drivers you have installed with the other one or maybe run Windows Update and see if that can find a better driver for you  

[GillE]

Success   !

Thanks for finding that patch and all the other helpful advice, Sandra.  I've downloaded it but I haven't installed it yet because whilst you were racking your brain, I installed a very old movie editing software package (AIST MovieDVsuite) which I had used with a previous dedicated firewire network card.  This has solved the problem!

Now I can happily make loads of home movies and cure everyone's insomnia  .

Yours

Gill