Capture Digital Video from Sony DCR TRV740

garioch7

Senior Contributor Location: Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada Joined: Feb 07, 2011 06:45 Messages: 852 Offline

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Apr 18, 2011 13:09

Probably a stupid question. My old camcorder uses Hi8 tape and normally records in Digital 8 format. It also reads Hi8 analogue. Up until now, I have using another product and converter device to capture my Hi8 analogue from yet an older camcorder (and my VHS tapes) to .mpeg2 format and then using PD9 to create my projects, produce, and burn.

Today I encountered the first of my Hi8 tapes that was recorded in Digital 8 format and hoped that PD9 would recognize the camera, but no such luck. Windows doesn't "see" it either, unless USB streaming is turned on, which Windows 7 does not support with this camera. Windows tries to install drivers if USB streaming is turned on, but fails and I wind up with a non-functioning "Unknown Device" in the Device Manager. If Windows can't see the camera, then poor PD9 does not have a chance.

I have been connecting via a USB cable from camera to computer. I see that there is a DV jack on the camera, but not sure if purchasing a cable would do the trick for PD9 to capture or whether I should just continue with my VidBox to capture the signal to the other product. If it would work with a DV cable, which cable should I purchase?

Didn't find any answers on the net other than that, according to Sony, the necessary drivers are included in Windows7. Dxdiag attached, should an answer be lurking in there.

Not a big deal, but just wondered if anyone had managed to get such a capture configuration working in PD9?

Thanks for any and all suggestions. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

Filename	DxDiag.txt	Download
Description
Filesize	39 Kbytes
Downloaded:	556 time(s)

Windows 10 Pro x64
Dell XPS 8930
Intel CoreT i7 (4.6 GHz)
32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM
1 TB PCIe -x4 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
PD14 Ultimate x64, 4207
CD4 Ultra and AD6 Ultra
Bleeping Computer Malware Response Instructor

Rocket-Scientist

Senior Member Location: HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA Joined: Apr 23, 2010 10:14 Messages: 288 Offline

Apr 18, 2011 13:22

I believe that the DV port is actually a firewire connector, has a micro-plug at one end and a regular 1394 plug at the other end. Most electronic or video stores will have it.

The digital 8 acts just like my straight DV camera when in digital mode. I believe the USB link is for still pictures. Your Win7 drivers should see it (only when hooked up as 1394 link). RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB GDDR6
(2 NVME 2TB, 1 SSD 2TB, 3SATA 18TB )
PD18 ULTIMATE 64bit
WINDOWS 10 PRO 64 BIT
GIGABYTE X570 AORUS PRO WIFI MB
RYZEN 7 3700X 8-CORE , 64 GB DDR4
ORSAIR HX1050 watts PSU

garioch7

Senior Contributor Location: Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada Joined: Feb 07, 2011 06:45 Messages: 852 Offline

Apr 18, 2011 15:02

Rocket Scientist: Thank you for the information. My laptop actually has a mini-1394 (4 pin female) plug receptacle just like the camcorder, so I have ordered a special Firewire cable (4-pin male to 4-pin male) after I read your email. I will let you know how I make out once I receive it and have a chance to test it.

My existing setup works well enough, but I don't think running the digital signal through the analogue-to-digital converter device is doing my video quality any good (some pixellation and wavy lines), so I would like to do a direct capture if I can. The Digital 8 video certainly has much better colour and is sharper, but I am thinking it could be better. Worth the $20 or so for the cable to find out. Education costs.

Thanks again, Rocket Scientist. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil Windows 10 Pro x64
Dell XPS 8930
Intel CoreT i7 (4.6 GHz)
32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM
1 TB PCIe -x4 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
PD14 Ultimate x64, 4207
CD4 Ultra and AD6 Ultra
Bleeping Computer Malware Response Instructor