ADVC300 - Can't get DV input to G4 iMac

[rlkeffer]

I just received my new ADVC300. I hooked everything up according to the manual and tried to copy an old home-made VHS tape from my VCR through the ADVC 300 to iMovie on my G4 iMac. Though iMovie seems to know the ADVC 300 is present, it receives no picture and no sound. I have dip switches 5, 7, and 8 set to ON. All the rest are OFF. I performed the prescribed setup with Picture Controller 300, too. Without an excruciatingly detailed description of everything I've done, does anyone have a suggestion of how to trouble-shoot this? I'm highly frustrated at the moment.

Thanks!

[kbosward]

It wasn't clear in your post, were you able to get a picture in Picture Controller preview window?

What OS version do you have? What version of iMovie? Have you tried a DV camera on the same Mac? Do you also have an external firewire drive connected to the Mac (this can sometimes interfere with capturing from the ADVC300)?

Ken.

[rlkeffer]

Reply to kbosward

I'm running MacOS 10.4.10 and iMovie 6.0.3. I have uploaded from a DV camera frequently and successfully for as long as I have owned the iMac. I was not able to get a picture in the Picture Controller preview window. I do have a Firewire hub with three hard drives and a DVD burner actively attached. This never has interfered with uploading from the DV camera. My iMovie project files are stored on one of the 500 GB Firewire drives. That's where I always have uploaded my DV input, so I'm not eager to think that I have to disconnect all Firewire devices. I will give it a try and then weep if that is the solution.

I will very much appreciate any and all suggestions!

Ron

[rlkeffer]

Error 50 MacOS

Rather by accident I made another discovery concerning my inability to import DV from the ADVC 300. I was running Toast, and it recognized the ADVC. Toast asked whether I wanted to import video from that source, and, breathlessly, I said yes. After asking me to insert a blank DVD, Toast began the upload, but almost immediately stopped. The error message said there had been a Mac OS -50 error. Does anyone know what that is?

Thanks!

Ron

[THoff]

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=9805

Seems to be related to the file system -- have you run a disk integrity check lately? Of course, it could also have been related to the DVD you inserted.

[kbosward]

First I would try using the ADVC300 without any other firewire devices connected (but make sure you follow the steps at the end of this Apple support article).

Next, you may have already done these, but just in case:

• General FireWire troubleshooting
• Check the system log for errors (Applications->Utilities->Console)

Ken.

[rlkeffer]

Next Step

Thanks very much for your suggestions and help. Although I never would call myself an advanced user, I have been troubleshooting Macs since they first appeared, and have used them constantly since 1984. This problem is perplexing precisely because I do not think it is a Firewire or input problem as such. Instead, it does seem to be a file problem of some sort. Here's why I think that's the problem: iMovie "sees" the ADVC 300. System Profiler "sees" the device. Toast "sees" the device. When I turn dip switches 7 and 8 on I can contact the ADVC 300 from the computer. It's talking to the iMac. The problem seems to occur just when I ask iMovie to import and store the video. Though this works fine with a DV camera, some sort of error is occuring with the ADVC 300. As soon as Mac OS 10.5 Leopard arrives, I will install it and hope that provides some relief from the problem. Meanwhile, if you can think of any other avenues I can take, please let me know. I'll keep fiddling and trying to resolve the problem.

Ken: I have read through the links you sent, and I will follow those procedures and hope that kick-starts the process.

Again, thanks!

Ron

[rlkeffer]

Got It!

I uploaded the VHS video I was trying to import through the ADVC 300. I switched VCR's. I had bought a new VCR just for this project, and it seems it was defective right out of the box. I never suspected it until it began to have mechanical problems running tapes. As soon as I hooked up my very old tried and true VCR, voila! I now have a DVD of the 1989 tape of my daughter riding her horse.

Thanks for your help. It seems I was just too myopic to see the problem. The ADVC 300, by the way, performed very nicely, and once the VCR issue was resolved, was extremely easy to use and interfaced with the iMac perfectly.

Ron

[GrassValley_BH]

Great! I'm definitely guilty of overlooking the simple solution at times too.

[kbosward]

Well, I feel a little silly, should have thought about that too. Of course the ADVC300 won't output a DV stream if it gets no signal. Normally with the VCR properly connected but with no tape playing you should at least see the VCR's standby blue screen in the preview window.

Ken.