I presume you are trying to use the internal HDV capture and not the external Vidcap application.

Tom

not to state the obvious - you are trying to capture with hdv capture in vegas?

are you sure the m15 is set to hdv out? i find if mine's on auto it doesn't always get picked up (unless i actually run a hd tape at the same time as firing up capture).

out on deck is set to HDV
have not tried the camera...I got the deck to save wear hours on the camera
using the internal HDV capture mode in Vegas
anything else I can try?
thanks to all for your help

Why not try using your camera? A few test transfers is not going to wear it out. Also try HDVsplit. That hopefully will help pinpoint where the trouble lies: tape player or capture software.

I got the deck to save wear hours on the camera

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

Seriously - if you use your camera enough to wear out the heads, then you certainly have enough business to buy a deck or new camera.
We should be so lucky to have enough business to wear out the video heads in a camera. In reality, it just doesn't happen. (Mixing tape brands or excessive cleaning tape use can prematurely wear out your heads).

Of course, I bought a deck. (The same one you have). Not to save head wear, but so that the camera would be available while tapes were being captured.

Steve:

How much life do you think is in those playheads -- in terms of hours of recording and capturing.

Regards,

Kimberly

Seem to remember having similar problem with A1e camcorder. OK on DV but not found capturing in HDV

Solved by changing 1394 Host controller to Legacy. Most pc's offer a choice of drivers.That is assuming you are using Firewire.

Geoff

G, thanks. Can you tell me, in layman's terms, how I do this?

Using windows 7 but Vista & XP will be similar.
Start> rt-clk Computer>Properties>Device Manager
Look for IEE 1394 Bus host controllers
Double Clk. Should open up to 1394 OHCI compliant Host..........
If it says (Legacy) it's already loaded.
If not continue
Double Clk again. On new window Clk Driver Tab
Click Update driver > Browse my computer
Select 'Let me pick from list.......'
Choose 1394 OHCI........(Legacy)

You can back out at any time by hitting Cancel.

Most pc's picked up the cams without need for this. Best of luck
Geoff
PS fill your computer spec in. It's a great starting point for help.

How much life do you think is in those playheads -- in terms of hours of recording and capturing.

Let's not hijack this thread.

But, I know many pro videographers, and some of them have hundreds of hours on their VX-2000's pr PD-150's.

Some of them had said that they needed to send their cameras to Sony service for a head replacement. (Some of those became believers in the practice of only using a single brand of tape). I personally know of only one person who literally wore out his tape heads. He was one of those people who used whatever tape was on sale at Wal-Mart. He dutifully used a head cleaner tape before each project.

It probably happens, but I think it's exceedingly rare for day-to-day use of a camera doubling as a deck to ever wear out the heads.

This myth goes back to the days of 2-inch tapes in TV-studios. Those huge reels moved the tape at 15-inches per second and the heads were spinning at 15,000 RPM. Yes, we replaced heads about once a month of daily use. (In our small station with two quads, at least one was running 18-hours a day. (We were off the air between midnight and 6AM). Your DV tapes move at 3/4-inch per second and the tensioners are at least an order of magnitude lighter than the 2-inch beasts. Normal use simply is not going to wear out your heads.

" He dutifully used a head cleaner tape before each project."

Head cleaning tapes are abrasive and are basically very fine grit sandpaper. One should use a head cleaning tapes only when necessary. It is quite likely that this is what wore out this guy's heads.

That was the subtle hint....

No need to be subtle, this is information that needs to be stressed.

DO NOT USE A HEAD CLEANING TAPE ANY MORE THAN IS NECESSARY

don't think it's so much a head wear problem as general transport mechanical failure, ie, heads going out of align, belts, pulleys, whatever....

i tell my students that if they're going to capture from tape, then do the WHOLE tape, and certainly NOT rock 'n' roll to find scenes.

i really don't think, as has been pointed out, that actual head wear is a problem anymore, but the transports have got flimsier and flimsier....

Typically, modern heads in camcorders and decks are good for 1500-2000 hours.

thanks, G...I'll try that for HDV transfer, now my client wants standard DV transfer, so I've tried to go back to that and I'm getting another error! After changing all the settings and trying to change them back, I now get "preview is turned off" and when I open the capture window, I'm seeing ""Microsoft av/c tape subunit device cannot be opened".

What did I change that I shouldn't have?

PLEASE, no more about tape heads here...appreciate it!