DV Camcorder Import Not Working

Hi, "close but no cigars" seems to sum up what's happening when I try to
import video from my Canon Optura 100MC mini-DV camcorder onto my Vista
(Ultimate) PC via the firewire port. Here's what happens (in order) when I
plug the camcorder into the firewire port and turn it on (to Play/VCR
setting):

1) the system makes a Device Connect sound
2) Device Manager refreshes and shows a new entry for "Imaging devices" in the
device tree. Click the plus sign by "Imaging devices" and "Canon DV
Camcorder"
appears underneath. Device Status in the Properties dialog for the
"Canon DV
Camcorder" device says "This device is working properly"
3) The AutoPlay dialog appears with two choices: 1) Import Video using
Windows
Import Video, 2) Import Video using Windows Live Photo Gallery
4) Clicking on either brings up immediatly an error alert with the text "The
video
device is currently in use. Close any other program that is using the
device and
try again. If you need to start Import Video again, turn off your
import device
and then turn it on again." Clicking OK in this dialog dismisses it an
nothing else
happens.

NOTES:
1) The Scanners and Cameras control panel applet shows nothing in the
connected devices list before or after the camcorder is connected and turned
on; the list is still empty after pressing Refresh when the camcorder is on
(and connected).
2) turning off the camcorder and turning it back on just brings up the same
error alert.
3) I'm not aware of any other program using the device. I get the same
alert if I cold boot the system and then immediatly turn on the camcorder.
4) It's been a while but I'm fairly sure I was able to import video just
fine (no error alerts) in mid 2007 just after the system was built and Vista
installed (I tested it as part of a general new system shake down).
5) Canon support site says the Optura 100 MC needs no extra drivers to work
with Vista. The built in Canon DV Camcorder driver should be all I need.

It seems odd that Device Manager and AutoPlay respond when the camcorder is
turned on, but that nothing shows up in the Scanners and Cameras control
panel applet. Is this diagnostic of a particular type of problem? Perhaps
some piece of autostart software I've installed since the system was built is
interfering with video import? I may decide to remove software one app at a
time to test this possibility, but if somebody has an idea of what the
problem might be, it could save me a lot of time. Thanks for your help.

Clay

Firstly thanks for the comprehensive post detailing your situation...

Alas it seems you are doing everything right so like you I suspect it's
some program running in the background interfering.

Before we go there lets try something else.

Open Windows Movie Maker:

Hook up your camcorder via firewire, as oper usual, make sure your
camcorder is in play mode.

Import file using Movie maker, it's pretty obvious where to click.

See how you go with that


--
Clevo

___________________________
Windows Vista Home Premium x64 + SP1
ASUS P5K MB
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
4GB RAM (DDR2)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Realtek HD onboard sound

Helpful links:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...91033.mspx#EEE

Found the problem. The Optura 100 MC has several recording "modes": SP, LP,
ESP, and ELP. I've always recorded in SP (the default mode) in the past, but
this time I decided to try ESP, which doubles record time (i.e. a 60 minute
tape can record 120 minutes of video), because I'm converting VCR tapes that
are up to 120 minutes long. Apparently, video capture can't handle tapes
recorded in ESP mode. After spending hours reading through posts in various
forums, I ran across one post that mentioned this issue, but for the most
part it seems to be undocumented. The post indicates that video capture will
work with the SP and LP recording modes but not ESP and ELP. Once I
rerecored with the camcorder set to SP mode, video capture now works fine. I
haven't had a chance to try LP mode yet.

I'm going to vent here just a bit: why isn't this well documented (by
Microsoft, Canon, anybody) so users don't have to waste hours figuring out
why things aren't working. I imagine other users, like me, have been tempted
to use the ESP and ELP recording modes (I don't know for sure but doubt the
Optura 100MC is the only camcorder that has these modes), only to be bitten
by the video capture failure. The error alert that pops up is entirely
misleading, and sent me off on an hours long wild goose chase. I hope
somebody at Microsoft learns about this sorry state of affairs (if they don't
know about it already), is embarrased by it, and does something to address
it.

As a final note, I'll just mention that after all this, the Optura 100MC
still doesn't show up in the Scanners and Cameras control panel dialog. It
seems quite odd that Vista detects when the camcorder is connected and
captures video just fine but fails to show the camcorder in the Scanners and
Cameras list.

Clay

"Clevo" wrote:

>
> Firstly thanks for the comprehensive post detailing your situation...
>
> Alas it seems you are doing everything right so like you I suspect it's
> some program running in the background interfering.
>
> Before we go there lets try something else.
>
> Open Windows Movie Maker:
>
> Hook up your camcorder via firewire, as oper usual, make sure your
> camcorder is in play mode.
>
> Import file using Movie maker, it's pretty obvious where to click.
>
> See how you go with that
>
>
> --
> Clevo
>
> ___________________________
> Windows Vista Home Premium x64 + SP1
> ASUS P5K MB
> Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
> 4GB RAM (DDR2)
> NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
> Realtek HD onboard sound
>
> Helpful links:
> http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...91033.mspx#EEE
>

Glad you sorted it out...to be fair on Microsoft I don;t think it's
reasonable for them to list pitfalls with a camera released in 2001 for
a OS that was released in 2007. Technology moves pretty quick...and as
you have mentioned the 'extra' modes you seem to have is not a common
feature.



clayga;745913 Wrote:
> Found the problem. The Optura 100 MC has several recording "modes": SP,
> LP,
> ESP, and ELP. I've always recorded in SP (the default mode) in the
> past, but
> this time I decided to try ESP, which doubles record time (i.e. a 60
> minute
> tape can record 120 minutes of video), because I'm converting VCR tapes
> that
> are up to 120 minutes long. Apparently, video capture can't handle
> tapes
> recorded in ESP mode. After spending hours reading through posts in
> various
> forums, I ran across one post that mentioned this issue, but for the
> most
> part it seems to be undocumented. The post indicates that video capture
> will
> work with the SP and LP recording modes but not ESP and ELP. Once I
> rerecored with the camcorder set to SP mode, video capture now works
> fine. I
> haven't had a chance to try LP mode yet.
>
> I'm going to vent here just a bit: why isn't this well documented (by
> Microsoft, Canon, anybody) so users don't have to waste hours figuring
> out
> why things aren't working. I imagine other users, like me, have been
> tempted
> to use the ESP and ELP recording modes (I don't know for sure but doubt
> the
> Optura 100MC is the only camcorder that has these modes), only to be
> bitten
> by the video capture failure. The error alert that pops up is entirely
> misleading, and sent me off on an hours long wild goose chase. I hope
> somebody at Microsoft learns about this sorry state of affairs (if they
> don't
> know about it already), is embarrased by it, and does something to
> address
> it.
>
> As a final note, I'll just mention that after all this, the Optura
> 100MC
> still doesn't show up in the Scanners and Cameras control panel dialog.
> It
> seems quite odd that Vista detects when the camcorder is connected and
> captures video just fine but fails to show the camcorder in the
> Scanners and
> Cameras list.
>
> Clay
>
> "Clevo" wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> > > Firstly thanks for the comprehensive post detailing your situation...
> > >
> > > Alas it seems you are doing everything right so like you I suspect
> > it's
> > > some program running in the background interfering.
> > >
> > > Before we go there lets try something else.
> > >
> > > Open Windows Movie Maker:
> > >
> > > Hook up your camcorder via firewire, as oper usual, make sure your
> > > camcorder is in play mode.
> > >
> > > Import file using Movie maker, it's pretty obvious where to click.
> > >
> > > See how you go with that
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Clevo
> > >
> > > ___________________________
> > > Windows Vista Home Premium x64 + SP1
> > > ASUS P5K MB
> > > Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
> > > 4GB RAM (DDR2)
> > > NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
> > > Realtek HD onboard sound
> > >
> > > Helpful links:
> > > 'Windows Vista Help: Codecs: frequently asked questions'
> > (http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...91033.mspx#EEE)
> > > > >


--
Clevo

___________________________
Windows Vista Home Premium x64 + SP1
ASUS P5K MB
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
4GB RAM (DDR2)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Realtek HD onboard sound

Helpful links:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...91033.mspx#EEE