computer doesn't 'see' my new video camera

[trekkor]

JVC GR-D870U.

It's says it's Vista compatible.
When I plug the USB wire into the computer it does not find the camera.
Camera on or off.

I shopped around for this camera because it was supposed to work

I've got videos to post!


KT

[ZOA NOM]

You said Vista. Begin your troubleshooting there.

[trekkor]

You said Vista

It doesn't get picked up by my laptop that runs XP, either.


KT

[stomachmonkey]

Are u in VCR/Playback mode?

[Joeaksa]

Camera turned on? Reboot with the camera turned on.

Try a different USB port, or ones on the back of the machine. Makes a difference sometimes.

[slodave]

Try turning on the camera to playback mode first, then try and connect to the PC. You don't have the ability to use Firewire, do you?

Dave

[trekkor]

I've tried all of those things, thanks for the ideas.

My computer 'sees' my four year old broken JVC. It's makes that regognition 'ka-doink' noise.

This chokes.


KT

[slodave]

Trekkor, from JVC:
Can you download video to PC via USB connection? (For 2007/2008 DV models)
You cannot transfer video from a 2007-2008 model DV camera through a USB connection. To transfer video you must use the i-link DV connection. Depending on the device you are connecting the camera to you will need either a 4-4 and 4-6 pin i-link cable.
These DV cables can be purchased through our parts and accessory store.

[trekkor]

Thanks for looking into that. Do you have a link?

I'm scratching my head because the instructions show the USB cable as 'the way' to connect to a PC. AND, they provide the cable.

Why do all that if it doesn't work and I must buy more parts?


KT

[slodave]

This is where I found the paragraph.
http://support.jvc.com/consumer/support/support.jsp?pageID=1&item=4

Dave

[trekkor]

Thank you!


KT

[trekkor]

I'm still trying to grasp why they have the USB port on the camera but it's not designed to work?!?


KT

[jeffgrant]

On some cameras, they use the power in a USB connection to recharge the batteries. Also, on some video cameras, they have the ability to take still photos, and those stills are then able to be downloaded using the USB cable. (My Sony is like that).

The problem is that a lot of USB connections can't sustain the steady throughput to offload videos, as USB is generally handled by the main CPU of the computer, and the overall transfer rate is not good enough.

That's why a lot of video cameras still have firewire connections, as they have their own controller (not tied to the main CPU), and they can provide higher constant transfer rates. This is especially important for real-time video editing, etc.

As video cameras become more and more high def, this high-throughput becomes more and more important.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by jeffgrant

...That's why a lot of video cameras still have firewire connections, as they have their own controller (not tied to the main CPU), and they can provide higher constant transfer rates. This is especially important for real-time video editing, etc...

Firewire is my preferred connection choice.

Needed a big HD for a last minute project, run into Best Buy to get one.

Guy comes over to help, say I'm looking for a 750 to 1 TB Fire Wire drive.

"Well we have plenty of USB"

"Don't want USB, need FW"

In a condescending tone "Why, USB 2.0 is almost as fast"

"Actually USB 2.0 is technically a bit faster than FW 400, but USB drives can't be daisy chained, you need a port per connection. FW will daisy chain up to 63 devices on one port. This drive is going in line with a bunch of others.

FW devices have their own controller so they can be connected peer to peer, auto configure, communicate and interact without a host CPU. USB is "dumb" needs the host CPU to control everything which is a performance hit negating the slight speed advantage"

"Oh, I'll see what we have in the back"

[jeffgrant]

I just tell them I have an old Mac that doesn't have a USB port, and that seems to shut them up. Saves the time/effort to edumacate them.

[jeffgrant]

My other favourite part is when they try and sell me a USB 2.0 cable, not a USB 1.0 cable.

I laugh, and ask if they happen to know that one of the explicit details of USB 2.0 spec is that the physical cable is backwards compatible with USB 1.0. They kind of look at me with glassed over eyes at that point, wondering what the hell a "spec" is, and just look confused at the label that says "USB 2" on it.

*sigh*

[scottmandue]

Does the camera have a removable memory card? I get around a lot of this compatibility crap by using a USB card reader, your computer may already have a card reader built in?

The memory card will show up as another drive, you can then drag and drop the files to any folder you want.

[trekkor]

OK, you guys nailed it!

I slipped one of my SD memory card in there and switched to 'memory mode'.

It sees the card as 'removable disk G:'

This camcorder does stills to the card and, yes I can use the USB wire for that function.
Now I need to find a DV wire for the video side. Got it!

Thanks.


KT

[trekkor]

Video coming.

It's from today in that heinous little Ford Escort...


KT

[trekkor]

I use Windows Media Encoder to compress the video file from 75MB to 12MB.

Seems that sometimes YouTube is late on adding the sound?!?

Can you hear the tires howling?


KT