ZR85 video to computer

[chadwick]

Hello all, So we have an old ZR85 that we are trying to convert all of the old family videos from. I have researched it, and tried the techniques that I found recommended, but to no avail. The factory recommendation was to hook up to a firewire port via firewire cable (dv cable). I did this, but the computer does not acknowledge the connection. I can't find the connection anywhere when it's connected. And yes, I am turning the camera on. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[VideoGeek]

Are you using a Mac or PC?  What Operating System are you using (Mac OS, Windows 10, 8, 7, etc.)?

If a PC does the FireWire port show in Device Manager?  That will not show a connection but just whether or not the FireWire port is recognized and has the proper driver installed.  

What editing (capture) software are you using?  If you have the camera in Play (VCR) mode and have it connected to the computer, via FireWire cable, does the editing software still not recognize the ZR85?

[chadwick]

Thanks so much for the response.

Using PC w/ Windows 7.

This question seems like it may point to my problem... Firewire is not recognized at all in my device manager, unless it's under another name that I'm not recognizing. 

I was trying using Windows Media Player, as I saw in the manual for the camera that it should work. Not only does the software not recognize it, the Computer is not showing the Firewire Port at all.

Sounds like my issue is that the computer is not accessing the Firewire port for some reason. Any suggestins? Thanks again.

[VideoGeek]

You may want to look at the following link for help with FireWire issues:

Fixing FireWire Problems in Windows 10, Windows 7, etc.

The FireWire port in Device Manager may show up as IEEE1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller

Regarding Media Player and capturing or viewing video from the camcorder something does not seem quite right.  You should be able to use Media Player to view the video after it has been captured but not before the video is actually stored on the computer.

Have you tried finding the camcorder with MovieMaker?  If the camcorder is recognized you should be able to capture the video from tape with MovieMaker.