Sony HDR-FX7 capture issue

[antonsvideo]

I have a customer here with a HDR-FX7

it has some HDV recording at 1080i on the tape, I am unable to capture it

all I see is a gray screen and I can't control the camera

the camera output has 3 settings, auto, HDV and DV

if I switch to auto or HDV, I get nothing

if I switch to DV, I can capture a downconverted version, this is not what I want

any ideas? don't say legacy drivers, already done that

will I need a driver for this camera?

the LCD screen of the camera says 1080i during playback and shows a good image

[tingsern]

Hi Anton,

Are you using Firewire? If so, I don't think Firewire can capture a HD signal. If this Firewire port can do it, maybe the Firewire port on the camera is not working?

Also, does the camera has any external capture device (like Compact Flash, SD or Magic Stick) that you can try to ask the camera to record it on - and from there, you can try transferring the data onto that external medium and then copy the files to your PC.

[antonsvideo]

yes, I am using firewire and the port is working

I have changed camera menu output to downconvert to SD and I am capturing now, customer is placing ontent on DVD so it is not that critical

the HDV output of this camera maybe broken???

firewire is certainly the common way to capture HDV, I don't know any other way

Edius seems to be fussy when it comes to capturing

[tingsern]

Oh - I didn't know you are capturing HDV. YES - I do capture HDV via firewire as well - no problems ... but, I am using a Sony HDV tape deck. Not directly from the camera.

[John Lewis]

If i remember correctly this camera was very particular about connecting proceadure to pc before switching on I always left the mode to match the format. Using Auto gave blockiness at the begining which gave the impression of dropout

[SRsupport]

Anton:
HDR-FX7 is NTSC model is the project matching the output?
Pal model Is HDR-FX7E

do you have a deck around?
If so capture a test minute via the deck if it is clean then it is not the setup .
If it also gives block you have some tinkering to do.

[antonsvideo]

Anton:
HDR-FX7 is NTSC model is the project matching the output?
Pal model Is HDR-FX7E

do you have a deck around?
If so capture a test minute via the deck if it is clean then it is not the setup .
If it also gives block you have some tinkering to do.

yes, the camera and footage is NTSC

I set HDV capture for 1440x1080 59.94i and I tried all others too just in case

in VCR setup of camera, I set ilink output to DV and then I can capture 720x480, if I set ilink out to Auto or HDV, all I get is a gray screen with no control over the camera

the LCD screen of the camera says HDV 1080i while playing

I don't have a deck capable of NTSC HDV capture

[GrassValley_SL]

How are you capturing the HDV?
What I mean is do you choose generic HDV input on capturing?
Is the camcorder connected to an OHCI card?

[antonsvideo]

yes, generic HDV capture

the camcorder is connected to Edius SP card OHCI input

I also tried another OHCI input connector

all OHCI connectors work when capturing DV or DVCAM

[GrassValley_SL]

Can you try the following:
1 Camcorder in HDV mode
2 onboard ohci (not gv hardware) Legacy drivers
3 Generic HDV
4 Don't start capturing the tape at the beginning start 1 min from the point where the signal starts.

Post results.

[antonsvideo]

Can you try the following:
1 Camcorder in HDV mode
2 onboard ohci (not gv hardware) Legacy drivers
3 Generic HDV
4 Don't start capturing the tape at the beginning start 1 min from the point where the signal starts.

Post results.

I will try tomorrow, even though the tape was have way wound in when I first tried

[Blast1]

When you are changing the HDV, Auto, DV settings in the menu are you disconnecting the firewire before you do it?

[Ron Evans]

I have had this problem with my FX1 too and found that it needs to be in HDV mode powered up and down before connecting to the PC with the OHCI cable. I normally capture with Vegas but it too has this problem if camera is in the wrong mode when powered. I think Windows loads the driver and then will not change even if the camera mode is changed without disconnecting from the PC

Ron Evans.

[antonsvideo]

I am not having any luck, I tried all above suggestions

when I disconnect the camera and connect my Sony DSR20, it works right away with DV/DVCAM tapes

after 40 reboots, I give up at this stage

[antonsvideo]

ok, a bit more testing and now I found if I push the firewire connector on the camera and push towards the battery to apply pressure, I have a signal

so I used some masking tape and tied the cable to the battery with gentle pressure

now I am capturing, but SD only, it still gives me gray screen in HDV mode

I would say the firewire output of the camera is faulty