Quick Question

[thefeedski]

You guys have been very helpful before and helped me find a video camera that best suites me. And I ordered it, shot some footage with it, and now I need to edit it. The only problem is it did not come with a cord to connect to my computer. The only cord I got is an HDMI cord to connect to the tv and stuff. But I have no idea what cord I need to connect it. I have googled it and I just keep seeing stuff about firewire. I have the Canon Vixia HV40. Any help? Thanks.

[thefeedski]

Oh, and I googled firewire cord and it is too small to fit anywhere in my computer. I saw an image of firewire/usb cord. Is that what I need?

[composite1]

Feed,

I checked on your model and it looks like you need a firewire 4×6 pin cable. It will be a small plug on one end and a large one on the other. The small (4 pin) plug will go into your camera and the large (6 pin) plug goes to your computer’s firewire input.

[thefeedski]

I found one at my house, but nothing showed up on my computer. I’m not sure if the firewire is just old and isn’t working or what. I may go buy one tomorrow, but is there something in particular I have to do to get the video from the camera to sony vegas 9?

[CraftersOfLight]

Further things to check out…

Are you sure the fire-wire hardware is functional? (assuming Windows OS) Right click “My Computer” and select “Manage”. In the drop-down select “Device Manager”. If you do not see “IEEE 1394 Bus host devices” (another name for fire-wire) that may be your problem. Either you do not have the hardware installed or your PC is not see it or recognizing it. If it is there does it have a yellow triangle with an ! in it? Then you have a hardware/driver issue you need to resolve before the device will work properly. Douple clicking it should give you some information on what the issue is. If it is present and things look okay…

…have you reviewed the users manual for your editing software. Most give pretty good basic instructions on the hook-up, settings, and process to import or download your video. Most have a short troubleshooting guide that helps with common basic issues as well.

[thefeedski]

I did what you said and I don’t see “IEEE 1394 Bus host devices”. What hardware do I need to install?

[XTR-91]

Your posts seem to indicate that you are not in need of a hardware solution, but rather a software driver. Do you have any information about your Firewire card, such as the model number?

[CraftersOfLight]

You did not mention what type of computer you have. Are you sure it has firewire connectors on it? You mentioned a firewire/USB cord in one post. And another post stated that you found “one” at your house but were unclear about the “one” what. I do not think a firewire-to-USB cable would work in your case.

As Composite stated, you should have a connector like the one on the left on your PC (your camera should have one like on the right). This could be in the case near your USB connectors, or in the back near where you monitor and other hardware plug in. If not then you may need to get a firewire card for it. There are several for under $20 and up.

If you do have a similar connector on your PC open the case and see if there is an internal cable running from it to the motherboard or auxiliary card plugged into the motherboard. If it goes to an auxiliary card, look to see if there is a name and model number of the board maker on it and check their website for possible driver downloads. If it goes to the motherboard, check the computer maker or motherboard maker website for possible driver downloads.

Download and install the driver(s) and see if this gets you working.

[composite1]

Diagrams… why didn’t I think of that?

[thefeedski]

I just can’t seem to get this figure out. I have the camera connected to my computer and I can’t get anything to show up. I have windows 7 toshiba laptop and I can’t find what to install. :

[CraftersOfLight]

when it was suggested that you look at your hardware configuration on your PC, you stated that…

“I did what you said and I don’t see “IEEE 1394 Bus host devices”. What hardware do I need to install?”

This, in itself, tells me you do not have firewire hardware in your PC.

There are a few models of Toshiba laptop that have theiri.LINK IEEE-1394 port. It looks like a smaller version of the connector on the right in the diagram above. If you have this on your PC I would try their online support and see if they offer downloads/updates for their hardwaredrivers.

[thefeedski]

S.O.B!! So you’re telling me I don’t have firewire on my computer and can’t get it!? AHHHHH!! I just spent $1000 on a video camera and mic!!!!!!

[birdcat]

There are expansion cards (PCMCIA and ExpressCard) you can get. Check out Newegg.com.

[composite1]

“S.O.B!! So you’re telling me I don’t have firewire on my computer and
can’t get it!? AHHHHH!! I just spent $1000 on a video camera and
mic!!!!!!”

Feed,

Now you have come to know the ‘true joy’ of video production. This why so many of the pro’s on these forums harp on doing thorough research on the gear you intend to use. Okay, it’s a common mistake but as Birdcat suggested it’s a doable fix.

Now that PCMCIA card option he mentioned, make sure it’s a firewire controller card. These cards are inexpensive and go into your laptop’s pcmcia slot and add firewire connectivity if you don’t have it built in. Here’s a link that has a good selection. I would be leery of the ADS model because when using XP 32 bit I would get regular ‘Delayed Write Failure’ errors when I had a portable harddrive connected to their controller cards. If you’re just connected from camera to laptop for capture, no prob.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=firewire+controllers+cards&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

[thefeedski]

How do I even add that stuff to my laptop though composite?

[futball8]

PCMCIA Expansion cards are plug-n-play. Your laptop should have a slot on the left or right side – it’s about as wide as a credit card. There may be non-functional plastic filler card in the slot now – there usually is – there is a small eject button next to the slot for ejecting the card. Some laptops juest have little spring-loaded flaps to cover the slot. Regardless, when the card is installed, it will looksomething like this:

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/cooldrives/port-multiplier-esata-pcmcia.jpg

Hope this helps.

[thefeedski]

Ok, so I bought the right thing, but my laptop has nothing on the sides or anything that opens up for it to fit in. =

[CraftersOfLight]

Could you share the make and model of your laptop so that we may be able to help further? Or check you owners manual for the laptop and look at the discriptions of the ports it has on the sides.

MyToshiba Satellite, for example,has aPCMCIAslot (may also be called an ExpressCard slot) with spring door on the left hand side. Right below it is 2 USB connectorsand an i-LINK(firewire)port (a very small version of the diagram on the right).

[composite1]

Feed,

Yeah, like Crafters said give us your laptop’s make and model. Your unit might not have PCMCIA slots included.

[thefeedski]

Toshiba Satellite L455

[CraftersOfLight]

OK.I could only find 2 models of the L455,neither of whichlooks likethey support i-LINK firewire or a PCMCIA/ExpressCard slot to get you a firewire setup.

Not sure how wellitwould work but this, or something similarmight be an option.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Studio+MovieBox+Plus&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

[thefeedski]

Jeeze. Why would they even make a computer that doesn’t have it. But thanks for the help. Is that moviebox thing going to get it to my computer?

[composite1]

Feed,

The answer to your question is, if it was one of their less expensive models it was marketed towards people who not only didn’t know what that stuff was, they wouldn’t use it if they did.

The answer to your second question is by USB 2.0 cable. I’m curious about the download times as they swear that USB is faster than firewire (maybe in theory but not in actuality.) But, without spending the cash on an upgraded laptop with the necessary plugs the Movie Box looks like your best bet.

[thefeedski]

Alright, thanks again everyone. But before I am done with this firewire problem. Is this exactly what I need to solve it..?? A USB cable and the Movie Box thing?

[SafetyMan]

USB is theoretically faster than firewire, but it is shared with other resources in the computer. The more things connected to your USB ports, the slower your throughput will be, so disconnect all external USB hard drives, disconnect your external mouse and external keyboard to give yourself the best chance at getting a clean encode without dropping a frame. Firewire is a dedicated path into your processor.

As for whether the Movie Box will work with your system, you will need to check the specifications of your exact computer and processor against the system requirements for MovieBox http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/Studio+MovieBox+Plus+version+12.htm

In looking at the specifications for the Toshiba laptop you have, it uses an extremely old processor (introduced in April 2008) and a slow hard drive. These two things may result in dropped frames which will put your audio and video out of sync. According to Pinnacle’s website and the computer specifications that I found on a CNET review, your computer is below the minimum specifications to edit SD video, and if you plan to edit HD video, I would almost guarantee dropped frames.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you will need to get a more powerful computer, preferably one with firewire included. A desktop will give you the best price to performance ratio and will give you the ability to upgrade as you advance and your needs and desires change.

[thefeedski]

I told my parents about the problem and they said they will buy a new laptop. I feel so bad though because I just got this one for Christmas. Eh, oh well. Guess thats what I get for being the only kid left in the house. 😛 Any suggestions though? One with firewire and will work with my canon vixia hv40.

[SafetyMan]

Firewire in my opinion is a must. Memory and a fast hard drive will help make the experience enjoyable.

I have a Dell XPS M1330 that I use when I need to edit on the road. It is a Core 2 Duo with 4 Gig ram, high end video card,and a 7200 RPM Hard drive. I wanted something that was extremely light and portable(under 3 pounds), and I paid a premium for it, but at around $2000 it might be a bit more than your parents are willing to spend. It will handle HD video, but it is PAINFULLY slow (although most of my projects are several hours long). You might be able to get a comperable laptop that is heavier and larger for less if extreme portability is not an issue for you.

If this will be an editing machine, I would highly recommend a desktop computer. You will be able to get a more powerful system with more features at a fraction of the cost (I configured a Core2 Duo with 4 Gig of ram and a 640Gig Hard drive and 20″ monitor for under $700. A comperable 17″ laptop weighing in at over 7lbs is around $1400. If your parents are willing to spend more to support your interest in videography, step up the processor and RAM and get a second hard drive that you use just for storing and editing your video.

[thefeedski]

Well my mom suggested a desk top, but I am going to college in a couple months, so that wouldnt be a good idea. I dont think anyways, I may be able to get it to work if it is that cheap. But I will be looking around for one, thanks for the help.

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