'AVC compliant DV camcorder' not happy words!

[jamesconway]

This might be a better place to post this.

I've been using a JVC GR-PD1 camcorder and Windows XP with a firewire connection without issue for months.

The JVC instructions included a special section on 'Driver Installation'. When you connected the camera for the first time 'Found New Hardware Wizard' popped up and you were directed - by the JVC instructions - to install from a 'specified location' and to select 'I will choose the driver to install...'

You entered 'Sound, video and game controllers' and selected 'JVC' and even 'JVC Tape Device'.

Once you did this, the connection between the camcorder and the computer always worked great. In fact, I had to re-install my system software a number of times, for unrelated reasons, and each time I went through the above JVC driver routine with the camcorder without issue.

I have a broadband connection and allow my system to update (download/install) from Microsoft automatically. Accordingly, I was very quick to adopt SP2. No such updating seemed to effect the said connection to the camera. Indeed recently I re-installed my system software with the old CD that came with the computer when first bought, then downloaded SP2. Subsequent to that, I went through the JVC driver routine detailed above. No problems.

Yesterday I connected my camera to the computer and was surprised to discover that the camera's capture software wasn't finding the camera.

Normally the name of the camera appears in the capture window. It didn't. A fairly typical bubble appeared at the bottom right of the screen, alerting me that a 'AVC compliant DV camcorder' was connected.

I noted this was slightly different phrasing than I was used to from that bubble. I also got a window asking me what did I want Windows to do? Record Video using Windows Movie Maker? Take No action?

The camcorder was also clearly visible when I opened 'My Computer'.

However, the camera's capture software was not aware of the camera at all. It just sat there, idle, with it's buttons shaded and unclickable, as if no camera were connected...

I explored Device Manager for a while, also right-clicked on the camcorder icon in 'My computer'. All I got from this was advice that everything was okay - driver and camera. I think everything was okay, too, if I wanted to use the camera in conjuction with Windows software...

However, the camera's capture software which I use (and use crucially!) looked the way it looks when no camera is connected.

I didn't know what to think. There's a DV/MPEG2 switch on the camera which has always been set to MPEG 2 and still is; an ILink Out setting which needs to be set to 'SW' instead of 'Auto' - always has been and still is!

I recently set up a Bluetooth connection on my PC and worried that might have caused the strange shift in attutude - it was the only thing I had done to change my PC recently.

Reluctantly I completely re-installed my system software with the old SP1 CD and re-updated to SP2.

I went through the normal routine connecting the camera, assuming it would work now.

However, when I connected the camera for the first time it didn't even open Found New Hardware Wizard!

It found the camera, without allowing me to install driver from a 'specified location' or select 'I will choose the driver to install...' as JVC require.

Once again, the camera seemed properly connected - but the camera's capture software was unawares.

Anybody got any ideas?

This may be totally unhelpful, but I have heard a lot of JVC camcorders didn't originally work in Windows until Microsoft addressed JVC's non-standard FireWire implementation. Is it possible Microsoft has, somehow, undone the fix for JVC camcorders that it implemented by way of some update that occured automatically on my computer? Just a thought.

I would deeply appreciate any help.

[-pops-]

Hello and welcome to Windows Forum. I moved your other (identical) post for you.

I'm sure someone will be along shortlywho knows about these things but, in the meantime, have you looked on the JVC website to see if there are any known issues between their software and SP2? There have been some instances of problems arising after the installation of SP2 with various bits of software - yours may be one of the less common ones.

[jamesconway]

Thanks but, as I was careful to point out, I had no issues after repeated SP2 upgrades. If it is a Windows Update that's the 'culprit' - it must be a smaller, subsequent one?

[-pops-]

Perhaps I should rephrase my reply:

- - -but, in the meantime, have you looked on the JVC website to see if there are any known issues between their software and the latest Windows versions.

You state that you suspect that JVC has a non-standard IEEE 1394 configuration - that alone would make it something different to what it is supposed to be and, if that is the case, then it should be incumbent on JVC to offer a solution.

[jamesconway]

Yeah, I agree it's JVC in this case! I continued wrestling with this problem. First of all I found that through Device Manager I could still 'install from a specified location' and 'choose driver to install'. There were two JVC options on the list then - tape device or digital camera.. but neither made any difference.

I have, however, found that sometimes when I plug in the PD1 to the computer by the firewire it's model name DOES appear in the camera's capture utility. Sometimes it doesn't.

Thanks.