Unable to capture video

Question

I have FCP HD 4.5. I am trying to capture video from a camcorder. I can connect the camera to my iMac via the cameras DV port into the firewire port or by the camera's USB port into the computer's USB. I have tried both ways but the camera is not being recognized. The camera is a Canon Elura 80, mini DV.
I select Log and Capture and I am told it is "unable to recognize video deck." Then I try Capture Now but it says video device isn't selected. What should I do?
Thanks

Answer 1

You have two problems that fold into one another masking the solution.
1. an intermittant connection between your camera and the computer
2. a possible conflict between your camera and an external drive.
Lets take the problems individually.
1. An intermittant connection. If your camera is not being recognized in system profiler (before trying iMovie or FCP) you have a connection issue. Either the camera settings are wrong, the camera's firewire port is damaged, your firewire cable is flakey and/or your computer firewire port is damaged.
To test these items individually, you'll need another computer, cable and camera that you know work. If you don't have these things or have access to them, you'll probably need to take your machine to a knowledgable repair shop.
2. A conflict between the camera and the hard drive. If the camera connects reliably and shows up in system profiler, it should always work with iMovie- even with a hard drive attached. This is the very first test. If it now doesn't work when you try it in FCP with the hard drive attached, you have the firewire bus conflict. Disconnecting all external hard drives from the computer and capturing to an internal drive will solve the conflict problem.
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