Capturing Mini DV

[jmbailey24]

I am trying to capture footage from some old hdv tapes to my computer.  I have two mini hdv camcorders, the Canon XH A1S & the XH G1S.  It appears the firewire port on the G1S has been damaged or something because it no longer works. The computer does not recognize it at all.  The A1S has never been able to capture.

So the question is, is there a way to capture video without using the firewire port?

I have tried capturing via several different mini dv player decks, but none will play the video.  I also tried to capture using 2 different mini dv camcorders (not Canon brand) and those did not work either.  I hear that Canon does not play well with others, so maybe that is the reason?  I have tried to capture to digital recorders using the component ports and the av port. I just cannot get anything to recognize either camera.

My latest idea is to get a cheap Canon brand hdv camera and see if that works, but I am trying not to spend a fortune on things that probably will not work.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[inactive010823]

Hi jmbailey24!

We aren't sure if you've already checked, but do the tapes playback fine in the XH G1S? Checking this will help determine if this isn't a problem with the data on the tapes rather than the camcorders.

Also, if you're unable to connect the camcorders via the Firewire port, there are capture devices that connect to computers via USB and to the camcorders using the component connections that may work for you if you want to look into those.

Depending on what operating system you are running on your computer, the built-in drivers may still work with the Firewire connection. This should work with Windows 7 and earlier, but not Windows 10. The camera's damaged port can be repaired by our Factory Service Centers. To setup a repair, go to www.usa.canon.com/repair.

If you'd prefer, our support team will be happy to help you one-on-one with this. You can always reach out to them at http://Canon.us/SupportCF

We hope this helps!

[jmbailey24]

Yes. Sorry, I wrote that in my original post, but lost that text and had to re-write. It plays in the G1S fine, and if I connect it to my TV via the viewfinder component, I can watch it on the TV. 

I have tried to connect it to the computer using component cables, running through Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle, but also got no response.

[inactive010823]

Thank you for the reply!

What this tells us is everything on the camcorder end is working properly. Something may not be setup right with the capture device. If you reach out to Blackmagic Design directly, they might be able to go over how you have it setup and determine if there's something there preventing it from working.

[jmbailey24]

Thanks. I have reached out to Blackmagic, and waiting on a reply.  I called Canon support earlier today, but they just suggested two of the things I have already tried to no avail.

I'm open to very "outside the box" ideas on how to get this captured.  Seriously...throw on your Macgyver hat and help me come up with something.  I have resorted to playing it on the TV and shooting the TV with another camera, but if I could get better footage, that would be preferred.

[kvbarkley]

I would use the viewfinder component out and get a box to convert that to DV.

[VideoGeek]

What OS are you using?  Mac OS or Windows?  If Windows, which version?  I only ask because Windows 10 does not natively support FireWire and requires a legacy driver for a FireWire device to be recognized.  If you are interested and think it would be helpful I have a link to the legacy driver and another to a site that discusses the Windows 8, 8.1, 10 FireWire issue and some possible solutions that I can post.

[jmbailey24]

I have tried on both IOS and Windows, neither of which work.  Windows 10 is what I am using, and it worked for months and then all of the sudden stopped.  It does NOT say legacy next to the driver, so if you can post that link, I will try that next.  Thanks.

[VideoGeek]

Legacy Firewire Driver - title will say Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 but it is the legacy driver you will need for Windows 10.

Fixing FireWire problems in Windows (various versions) - definitely worth a read.

[jmbailey24]

Thanks. I checked on it again last night and it looks like I downloaded it, and have it on my computer, but when you go to the device manager, it does not show up and can't be selected as an option. Even when I browse to it and try to select it, it tells me I have the most recent version of the software (even though it is not legacy). I will look at these links tonight and see if it helps.