Unable to capture PAL footage

I am unable to capture a PAL tape in FCP. The tape plays in the camera viewer but when I try to capture I get the message "no Video'. I have changed the setting in FCP to PAL and I also tried trashing the preferences and nothing has worked.
FCP 6.06
imac 2.4 ghz Duo core, OS 10.5.8
Camera: Sony HDR-FX1
Tape: Sony premium dvm 60
Thank you for your help

Wrong forum (this is FCP X) - post your question here:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/professional_applications/final_cut_stud io
Andy

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Unable to Capture PAL DV footage

I'm working on a project that requires I edit with both PAL and NTSC footage shot on mini-DV. I was about to purchase a plug-in to convert the PAL footage to NTSC, but find that I can't even capture the PAL footage to begin with.
I tried using both a deck and a camera as the source device to capture from and they both play the tape just fine and on the camera's LCD (not a PAL camera by the way), I can view the footage perfectly, but still FCP does not acknowledge any video on the tapes.
I've even tried capturing on iMovie-it tells me that the footage can't be captured because it is 'half-frames' and mentions LP and SP modes. Would this really matter and why does my camera play it just fine?
Also, when I play the tape on the camera and plug-in to a television, the picture keeps rolling, but again, plays perfectly on my non-pal camera.
I've tried switching all pre-sets to PAL, but it doesn't help.
I'm about to make a dub tape with a PAL camera (Sony Z1U) and see what happens, but if anyone has any other suggestions, I'd really appreciate any help.
Thanks.

I tried using both a deck and a camera as the source device to capture from and they both play the tape just fine and on the camera's LCD (not a PAL camera by the way), I can view the footage perfectly, but still FCP does not acknowledge any video on the tapes.
I have never seen an NTSC camera that plays PAL tapes!
Alberto

Unable to capture HDV footage with FCP 5.1

I've captured HD footage onto my old computer (10.4.11) without any problem but now I'm trying on my new one and it doesn't want to know.
First off there was a problem with the Firewire port ejecting my hard drives randomly so I took it to be repaired and they replaced the logic board and the port works fine.
I've looked at all the posts I could find, I've trashed my preferences, reinstalled Final Cut Studio ( after uninstalling then updating the software). I've made sure the camera is set to HDV playback rather than auto and that the iLink HDV/DV conversion is off. I've tried all the easy setups and all the custom ones I could think of but still FCP (5.1.4) won't allow me to capture. On some settings I have had device control but no image, on others it said the camera isn't connected. The only way I've captured footage is by using the HDV Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i50 which works fine.
The camera is a Sony HDR-HC7 connected directly to the iMac with a Firewire 800 / iLink cable or daisy chained through my external hard drive with a 400 / iLink cable (neither of which makes any difference) I can also capture SD footage from both the HDV and a Panasonic SD camera when in DV-PAL setup. The HDV camera also shows up as connected in the system profiler.
This is driving me nuts so any help would be appreciated and if there's any other info I can help with to make this clearer let me know.
Message was edited by: MrMajesticMole

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who was having the same problem as you. Although you say the camera playback is set properly, please recheck this. go into your camera's playback menu>menu>standard set>VCR HDV/DV. Unplug your firewire from the camera. Make sure camera is set to HDV NOT auto. replace firewire cable. Now open FCP. Go in Audio/video settings>A/V devices (farthest tab on right). In box for playback edit to tape different from video output (make sure it's checked) mirrored (checked) Video playback 1080i50, Audio HDV. I hope that works now.
Steve

Unable to capture DV footage from HDV camera

I am trying to capture from a dv tape using the Sony HVR-Z1E, but I keep getting the following message:
Unable to initialize capture device and device control........ This might also happen if you play DV footage in an HDV device.
I have tried changing the settings on the camera but to no avail.

Hi James,
This is a good workaround for curing your camera recognition problem:
First, check that your Easy Setup / Timeline / Camera or Deck Settings are all exactly the same, then making sure your camera or deck is in VTR mode, try to capture again.
Still not working?
Check whether iMovie recognises your camera.
FCP uses a different form of QT than iMovie for capturing, so if the camera works in iMovie (or if it's listed in System Profiler) but not FCP, it obviously means your Mac can see the VTR but FCP can't, so you need to do this QuickTime fix.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301852
Follow Apple's instructions carefully and you should have things running in no time - it's quite harmless!
But if the Camera / Deck isn't recognised by iMovie or System Profiler, try resetting the Firewire Bus . . . Turn off the Mac and disconnect the power and all Firewire cables. Leave it for 30 mins then connect back up.
Still not working? Try a different Firewire cable.
Failing all this, try resetting the PMU (Power Management Unit). The method varies from machine to machine, so visit the Apple site and search for it in support.
Don't use iMovie for capturing - it doesn't give you a timecode and that's very important.
Let us know how you get on!
Andy
Quad 8GB. 250+500 HDs. G-Raid 1TB. NORTON. FCP 5.1.1. Shake 4.1. Sony HVR Z1E Mac OS X (10.4.7)
"I've taught you all I know, and still you know nothing".

FCE will not capture PAL footage

Hi,
I'm trying to make a video for some English friends with footage they sent to me which is in PAL format. Normally I use HDV, so I changed the setting under "Easy Setup" to DV-PAL, but FCE will not let me capture it. The camera reads it and displays it on the screen, but it is not recognized by the computer. When I try to "capture now" an error message eventually appears saying "This operation could not be completed as there is no video."
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben

Sorry...I am located in the U.S. My "Easy Setup" setting is normally HDV 1080i60 but I have changed it to DV-PAL. I don't know much about PAL or the different PAL settings (anamorphic, 32khz, etc). I'm not sure I understand your last question, but the camera does display "DVout i.Link" once connected to the computer.
I have tried trashing my preferences but no luck. Apologies for not knowing more about the situation but some of this stuff is a bit over my head. Thanks!

Cannot capture PAL footage in FCP4.5 or FCP5.0.4

I have a last-minute project which was shot on PAL. Tried to capture but there was no video coming thru the FireWire. Tried both FCP5 on my 17" PB and FCP4.5 on my G4 and got no video.
Also opened up old FCP3 PAL project on the G4 which handled many PAL projects and went to the L & C window, but again it saw no video. Would this have anything to do with the OS? Or QuickTime (I have QT7 Pro on 17" PB and
QT6.5.2 Pro on G4)?
Anyone else experiencing similar problems? Please help.

Forgot to add that I tried trashing QT703 Receipts package (I'm on QT704) but it didn't seem to help.
I never had problems with PAL projects before. What could be wrong? Please help

Capturing PAL: "This operation could not be completed...." Help!

Hello,
I am attempting to capture PAL footage from a miniDV tape. I am using a Sony DSR-11 deck. From the Easy Setup menu, I select DV-PAL. In the Log & Capture window I select Capture Now and the the follow error message appears:
"This operation could not be completed as there is no video."
Any tips?

Did you make sure the DSR-11 was in PAL mode? The switch on the back.
Shane

Unable to capture Canon HDV footage with Sony v1u camera

I'm trying to capture hdv footage filmed with a canon video camera with my sony v1u. My sony footage captures as it should, but the canon footage, although playing fine on the sony camera, will not capture to cs4. Any suggestions?

Check all camera settings and make sure they match the original filming mode on the other camera... and veryify your PPro settings match
If that doesn't work, try http://strony.aster.pl/paviko/hdvsplit.htm

Imovie unable to capture DV, apple support told me that a pc is better!!!

I recently bought an apple imac with a view to editing DV footage taken previously.
I had captured some of these tapes on to a PC previously using Pinnacle studio. These files I was able to edit on imovie (once I had transferred them from the pc hard drive). HOWEVER although I could control my dv camera through imovie (and FCE) none of my old DV tapes could be captured to the imac. An error message states that the frame rate is incorrect.
I have apple care protection and have spent ages trying to get support for this only to be told that imovie will not capture my old DV tapes! The support person told me that I should go back to a PC!
Unfortunately I have just spent thousands on this very nice looking imac and FCE that is apparently unable to do the most basic capturing. Does anybody have any ideas (other than going back to pc) for getting my DV footage captured?
Needles to say I have foind all thi incredibly frustrating as a new apple user. Are these sorts of issues common to imacs?
cheers
rupert

HOWEVER although I could control my dv camera through imovie (and FCE)
none of my old DV tapes could be captured to the imac. An error message
states that the frame rate is incorrect.
Rupert, first be aware that I've never done what you are trying doing so I'm not an expert. But perhaps I can clarify some things to help others.
It's not entirely clear what you mean by "capture". The word normally means capturing video from a camcorder to iMovie/FCE. In fact, you say you can control your DV camera just fine, which I assume means you can capture video successfully from your camera to iMovie.
The problem you have, rather, seems to be the inability to IMPORT the DV video files previously captured on the PC.
Is that correct? Is the problem the inability to import those files?
An error message states that the frame rate is incorrect.
If yours is an import problem, that error message may be an important clue. iMovie can work with both NTSC and PAL video -- which have different frame rates -- but not both in the same project. It may be that your iMovie project is NTSC, but you're trying to import PAL video.
The General tab of iMovie preferences lets you set the default frame rate of a new project. In the popUp menu the bottom of the page, NTSC is 29.97 frames per second and PAL is 25. They become the default frame rate for new projects.
iMovie respects that frame rate for a new project, but will switch if you connect your camera and import some video of the OTHER type. If your camera is PAL, iMovie will switch your new NTSC project to PAL. Once switched, however, it won't switch back. Once switched to PAL, it will ONLY allow you to capture PAL video from a camera, and, I suspect, only allow you to import PAL video files.
So... If your PC-captured video files are PAL and your iMovie project is NTSC, iMovie might complain with that error. (But as I said earlier, I don't know for sure.) The trick may be to set the iMovie preference to match the captured DV files.
If you open one of the PC files in QuickTime Player, the Show Movie Info window will tell you its frame rate. Make sure your iMovie preferences are consistent with that frame rate, create a new iMovie project, and try to import the file. If it works, that was the problem.
Karl

Unable to capture from my Canon hv30

I just tried to capture some footage from my hv30, the first time I've tried, and it say's on the capture screen that the capture device is off line. I have the camera properly connected and its in the right setting, is there some setting in premiere that's i have wrong? I have another program that came with the camera, and it can't connect to the camera either, saying that its not connected. Not sure what to do at this point, so if anyone has any ideas that would be awesome.

This is the most weird camera I have ever seen, you have a miniDV tape camera appartently without a Firewire I/O connector. I just looked at this Canon specification http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=177&modelid=1620 6#ModelTechSpecsAct
and there is nothing about a Firewire/IEEE-1394/etc. Without a firewire interface Premiere is unable to capture video. apparently there is some software supplied with the camera, maybe it can capture the video via the USB interface to your computer and then (if it is the correct format) you can import it to Premiere.

Unable to Capture from My SonyHC3

I am very new to Final Cut Express and hope this is a simple mistake on my part. I am trying to capture some footage into FCE using a firewire but keep getting the colored bars, and the no Communication message. I have a feeling it is the easy setup function that is messing things up. I have tried most of the setups available but keep getting the same messages.
Unable to locate capture device
How do I know which settings i should be using for my Cam? I cannot seem to find anything from reading. I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting,,the truoble shoot section did not help so far.

Well I was able to capture some video...I had quicktime 7. something but updated it anyway. I guess there was a new update,,I followed the directions trashing the files in the library first . Then I went back and tried again and again switching things around in the camera and the Easy Setup.
I chose DV-NTSC in Easy Setup and in the camera i switched (in The STANDARD SET its a toolbox icon in the camera)
the i.LINK CONV to ON (HDV->DV)
Also
I switched the VCR HDV/DV to HDV
So now I get a capture,,,My camera shows that my output is just DV not HDV or 1080 is that a degraded capture...will I lose the Hight Definition?
Also after 9 min 15 seconds of capture it stops due to shortage of disk space.
I push the capture again and it starts up for another 9 min 15 seconds. I had to babysit it for the whole video.
I look in system settings and i have selected my 500 gb external for capture.
what gives here? is it initially capturing somwhere else or is it not able to keep up or what?
At least now I have somthing on there to practice with and start learning the software. I am sure i will be back with more problems questions and solutions.
Thanks in advance.
GreenHorn QNmac

Unable to capture HDV in FCP 6.0.1 from Sony HVR-Z1P

Hi I'm attempting to capture HDV footage from a Sony Z1.
I am trying to capture some HDV footage I shot with the Z1, but FCP simply refuses to recognize the Z1
I'm certain I've got all the settings correct:
- Camera is set to HDV firewire out
- capture presets is set to HDV
- device control preset is set to Sony HDV FireWire
- sequence preset is set to HDV 1080i50 (I'm in Australia)
- footage IS HDV 1080i50
But I keep getting the "Unable to Initialize Capture Device and Device Control" popup. I've tried everything
- rebooted the camera
- restarted FCP
- rebooted the system
- changed the capture/device control settings in FCP and tried out a regular DV deck to make sure it wasn't the cable
Nothing has worked.
I'm on a MBPro I7. No Kona card or anything like that, just trying to capture through firewire.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Matt
At present it will capture HDV in IMovie but not FCP 6.0.1
Message was edited by: Matt Blyth

Thanks Adrian, since posting the thread I've thought of that too but unfortunately to no avail. From other forums I've read this seems to be a central theme to the solution to my capture woes. I since have sorted the problem it was in Audio/Video Settings.
In the end I set my Audio/Video Settings to:
Sequence Preset to: Apple Intermediate Codec 1080i50
Capture Pre-HDV- Apple intermediate Codec
Device Control Preset: Sony HDV 1080i50 Firewire
And hey presto my I'm capturing HD without any problems. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
Message was edited by: Matt Blyth

Unable to capture with FCP5

With correct connexions and I-link OK, FCP is unable to capture DV with the
camera either with recorder. I,ve the text (in french) :
"Périphériques suivants sont introuvables
Apple Firewire PAL (720x576) .... "
The capture is OK using a Mc-Book with 10.4.7 OSX , but not with the G5. I ve verify QT is version 7.
All programms have been updated and still the images not captured, but only
the mechanical commands such "play, FFW, stop... "
How can I make the Camcorder, or the DVR recognized with FCP ?
Thanks for an help.

Hey everyone. Thanks for all the troubleshooting. Getting close to identifying the problem.
I brought the deck home with me to try it out on my personal MacBook Pro system. Same problem. the tape would play back, you could control the deck, but it would not import.
David brought up the tape itself, which, logically, I hadn't even thought of. So I threw in a completely different tape and voila! No problems. Was able to control the deck, view the video on my Mac's display (finally!) and yes, capture video to disk.
Just to make sure the deck wasn't being screwy, I tested both the original tape and the other on my personal miniDV camera and yielded the same results. Except when playing back the original, video wouldn't even display on the camera's LCD screen..
In short:
There has to be something funky with this tape that they gave us. We will probably ship it to another post house and see if they can get it to work out on a different deck. When I return to the office, I will try the other tape just to confirm there's nothing wrong with our Mac Pro system there..
Thank you all for you troubleshooting wisdom. I owe you all one.

FCP unable to Capture Canon GL2

Hello -
My system is noted below. Final Cut Pro is updated to 6.0.4.
I am unable to capture the video using Canon's GL2 using the current version of FCP. I believe that I have everything configured correctly because I am able to capture audio and video using my father's JVC GR-DV800U video camera. Actually that particular JVC camera seems to work quite well with FCP. But not Canon's GL2. I am able to control camera's Rewind, Fast Forward, Play, etc. So I know that some communication is taking place. However, no picture is present within FCP; no capture either. Instead, I get that dreaded beach ball wheel.
I believe the FCP settings are correct: Under "Audio/Video" settings, the audio is set to MOTU's 424 (for the 2408 MK3); the DV Capture Preset (and the Sequence) is set to "DV NTSC 48 khz"; Video Playback is set for"Digital Cinema Desktop Preview - Main" with the audio playback set (again) to MOTU's 424 card.
I am attempting to capture the video to an external hard disk drive using the Mac Pro's firewire port located in the back of the computer. Again, this all works using my father's JVC video recorder.
*Given the computer setting and operating system, is this a known issue between the FCP and the GL2??* My GL2 is an older video camera. I purchased it quite a few years ago. *It seems like the GL2 may be the culprit. Yes? No?*
I'm very new to FCP. My background is with SONY's Vegas program (currently I'm up to version 8). Been using the Vegas program for years. My Dell Workstation, unfortunately, is old; it definitely is showing signs of aging. So, to make a long story short, I've decided to invest time and money in a Mac Pro (I use it primarily for music sequencing using the Logic Pro program which I love!) Now I want to learn how to use the FCP which I purchased several months ago. Not being able to have FCP communicate with the GL2 is a minor significance for me, though. I'm in no financial place to purchase a new camera at this time. Luckily, I usually record the video using Focus Enhancement's FS4-Pro with the GL2. So I am not totally dependent on having FCP and the GL2 work together. *Thankfully, the FS4-Pro DOES works well with FCP!!* Too bad I didn't use the FS4-Pro today. Wish I did. UGH
Could there be a work around in getting the GL2 to communicate properly with FCP??
Thank you in advance for your thoughtful insights and suggestions.
Regards,
Ted Fiebke

Not all Canon cameras have connection issues, but hanging around this site I've come to recognize their ability to connect in FCP is the most problematic of all the camera brands. If you have a Canon camcorder, and can not get it to connect up with FCP, the following is a way to sort through the issues and get it to work. Some are elegant - some are ugly.
Before we go any farther
• You should be using 'Firewire Basic' as the control protocol. If you aren't, go change it and try again.
• Also, verify that you have a solid installation of Quicktime. You may want to reinstall it using the 'delete receipts' method.
With some confidence that the software installation and camera settings are correct ... the most direct solution is to purchase another, non-Canon device to use as your capturing machine. The (now discontinued) Sony DSR-11 is highly recommended for DV work. A deck will save wear and tear on the camera's lightweight drive mechanism and will allow you to permanently connect a NTSC/PAL monitor for proper viewing. If you are working with HDV, you may have other issues ...
Beyond that, the path you take depends on the model of computer you own.
1. If you have a G5 tower or a MacPro, capture to a second internal drive with only the camera attached. If you need to move material to firewire drive, disconnect the camera. A second internal drive is quite inexpensive these days if you do not already have one.
2. If you have a G5 tower (PCI) MacPro (PCI), G4 powerbook (PCMCIA) or MacBookPro (Expresscard 43) with an available slot, purchase the appropriate firewire card for the slot. Connect your camera to the card and you should be good to go. The new card creates a unique bus and will avoid collisions with the external drives.
3. If you do not have a slot or a second internal drive and you are stuck with the camera, welcome to the camera/drive shuffle.
• shut down and remove the external hard drive(s) from the system
• connect the camera directly to the firewire port of the computer
• start the camera then the computer
• capture to your internal (system) hard drive
• shut down the camera and computer
• disconnect the camera and reconnect the external hard drive(s)
• start hard drive(s) and computer
• move captured files to external hard drive(s)
• edit
If you output back to tape or wish to view your work on an external Video (NTSC or PAL) monitor, you need to set up the camera to use the firewire out as the A/DV converter or VTR - which means reversing the steps:
• copy the file back to the internal drive
• shut everything down
• disconnect the external drive(s)
• connect the camera to the firewire port (and the TV to the camera if needed)
• start the camera then the computer
• play the file.
One caveat here - You may have difficulty getting the file back to tape without dropping frames. Playing files off of the system drive is very demanding and they may have a hard time keeping up.
All in all, if you do not have the option for second bus (i.e. iMacs, eMacs, iBooks, MacBooks) you may want to think about a computer with expandable options next time.
There is the option of capturing using iMovie, but that brings on it's own set of problems and is not recommended.
Good luck.
x

Final Cut suddenly unable to capture from any source

I suddenly started having an inability to capture in Final Cut. I have always used Final Cut Express and a Sony handicam and a firewire port.
2 weeks ago when I went to capture I started getting “dropped frames” error messages. As you know, unchecking that feature in FCE or FCP simply results in video and audio that don’t match up. Anyway I tried that and it didn’t work.
I have used two other firewire cables
I am using OS 10.5.8
in trying to fix this problem, I upgraded to Final Cut Express 4 (from 2.0)
I trashed preferences.
I used disk repair and verify permissions
I booted up and down
then I gave up on the sony handicam and connected my G5 to a JVC editing deck I have, the JVC SR-DVM70.
When I connect my G5 to my JVC deck through the firewire In/Out port, I get the message, “VTR OK” so the connection is there.
When I hit “play” in Final Cut, it does control the deck and makes it play—but I do not see the video in Final Cut; I only see it on the JVC deck monitor.
When I hit “stop” it does not make the JVC deck stop. The only function it seems to control is simply “Play.”
Then when I go to capture, I get the message: "unable to capture because there is no video."
I have tried several different “Easy Setup” settings, including several firewire settings (including basic firewire) and several NTSC settings and a PAL setting.
Weird.
anybody out there a genius with this?

There is a separate forum for FCE.
Make sure you are using the correct HDV settings in FCE and that the camera is set to output HDV and not downconvert.

Unable to capture PAL footage

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