Dafydd might be able to get you a technical reason why this is, but from an average user experience that might be hard to answer. Most us opted for the flash memory camcorders that don't use the capture mode.

How do you like the camera? That would have been my first choice if not for the convenience of quicker transfers from memory cards. I don't know if any non-Canon cameras use HDV, but hopefully someone can help you out. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Try Windows Movie Maker.
Does it recognize the HV40 as HDV? HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

I like the camera. It works well and I like tape-based devices. But I understand the allure of the card-based cameras.

I was interested in the manual batch capture because it would allow me to enter timecode start and end points for pieces of footage.

But it's not the worst thing. My guess is that the drivers that Cyberlink has right now for some reason do not support manual batch capture for HDV devices (my camera at least).

Hmmm... I did install Windows Live Movie Maker and what was interesting was that it captured the footage (recognized the camera) and the footage is actually not jittery or hard to edit when imported into PowerDirector. When I capture with PowerDirector, the editing is more difficult because it's not smooth. However, the produced product is always good.

I did a search and it seems to be common for people to use Windows Live Movie Maker for capture and PowerDirector to edit.

I haven't tried it out enough to see if there's a quality discrepancy however - perhaps Movie Maker produces files that don't look as good.

For miniDV I used a program called Scenalyzer/SCLive which I have done since before PD. PD provided a scene capturing tool but SCLive was significantly (visual displayed capture as it takes place) better, timecode related capture for miniDV to an avi file. SCLive is a specialist capture program which I used in conjunction with PD2 onwards. Later I would tweak the mpeg capture in PD and use that route.

I don't have a HD tape capture camera and am unable to comment on the function of PD using it with that format. I have in the past been advised by CyberLink customer support the model you have has been successful in capturing from PD. I raised the issue because Barry was having capture problems with his HD HV30. As he has stated above he eventually opted for a different program as PD didn't recognise his camera.

SD based cameras are now my preferred choice.

Edited - in italics

My camera is recognized perfectly by PD9 and I am able to use regular capture. However, capturing using Windows Live Movie Maker made a file that was much easier to edit with - files captured with PD9 were jerky and not easy to edit.

I shouldn't be having issues since I have a dedicated editing system with powerful tools. -- Meaning, in my mind the editing should be smooth. So, I'm happy that using another program for capture has proved more successful.

Use what works best for you. You might be able to change the profile that PD is using to capture. My DV camera only gave me the option of MPEG 2 or DV, but maybe yours will have some HD options available. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM