Printing to Digital Video Tape Problems!!

sbradley wrote on 8/16/2002, 5:43 PM
I'm trying to print to a Sony digital video camera over an iLink/FireWire/iEEE 1394 interface. I have no problems capturing the video, or controlling the camera from my host computer. However, I cannot successfully print my completed video projects back to the camera!

If I use the Video Capture programs "Print to Tape" feature, I get nothing at all showing on my Sony Camera. If I use the "Tools/Print Video to DV Tape" option in the main application, I get video showing up at the camera -- but it is masked by some kind of block-shaped interference pattern. Like you can see the video coming in behind this funky block-shaped mask. On playback, it looks the same. Some areas of the screen are fine, some are blocked out by this interference pattern.

What could this be? Help! How frustrating!!

Comments

salad wrote on 8/17/2002, 10:36 AM
Are you saying that you are using the Vegas Capture utility OK?
NickR wrote on 8/19/2002, 2:49 PM
I'm having the same issue. I can capture perfectly, with deck control and everything. But both times I've tried to Print To Tape, I get random gray blocks on the LCD screen while recording on the camera.
HeeHee wrote on 8/20/2002, 1:08 PM
Just a stab in the dark, but did you try another tape? I had similar issues with a particular tape were the problem always ocurred at the same place on the tape. All other areas of the tape were fine.
skumar wrote on 8/21/2002, 6:50 AM
I anm having the same problem with my camera(Sony digital).
The problem doesn't seem to be the tape because (besides trying different tapes)the "checkered grey boxes" that are popping up on the output screen is also on the camera's lcd monitor.

I disabled all the suspend modes on the computer but it still pops up (this time at a later stage in the project)
very fustrating
please help!
SonyEPM wrote on 8/21/2002, 9:19 AM
Can you flawlessly print back a just-captured DV clip using the SF capture tool? If so, Vegas settings issue.

My guess is you'll get the same "blocks" as before, which usually means a system resources issue. Search this forum, as well as the www.creativecow.net Vegas fourm for "IRQ" or "ACPI" or "DMA" and you'll see many threads about this- it is almost always curable. (Premiere and Ulead DV users often run into the same thing).
Lajko wrote on 8/23/2002, 1:29 PM
I have problems with Panasonic dv951. System locks up when printing to tape at the time it tries to access the camcorder (firewire 1394 connection using TI drivers version 3.30). Device control is not an available option either. Briefly...

System: new 1.6gig with 80gig HD, matrox dual video; Soundblaster Audioligy Platinum for audio and firewire interface. All latest download installed 8/20 for Vegas, TI 1394 dvcam.sys version 3.3, Win2k service pack 2.

What works: Capture works perfectly. Preview to device works. Print to device plays, but device control unreliable even with "Enable Device Control" on.

Not working: Print to Tape in Vegas. In preferences: Device is connected, oche 1394 compliant device (Ms video or NONE are other options available). Selecting a small region to tes the print to tape, it will re-render video and hang at end of re-rendering. Device Control is not an available option anymore. Program will not shut down.

Problem Started: Last week when first trying print to tape, video was intermittent. (Since discovered problem is Windows 2k and the hard drive as moving file to a second physical drive solved problem - seems main drive somehow was too slow at getting data.) That was the only problem. No lock ups and there was proper device control for the dv951.

Trying to solve it: I updated from 3.0a to 3.0c of Vegas and installed TI drivers as per trouble shooting manual in Soundblaster Audioligy manual (pg.29) regarding printing to dv tape. Then the lockups started and device control was lost. Found a 3.3 of TI 1394 driver and installed that. Only slight improvement as was able to get capture utility to print to tape once with device coltrol. Capture is still and has always been working perfectly (although I never bothered with any device control on capturing.) Have totally reinstalled all Audioligy software, TI 3.3 and Vegas 3.0c update.

Things I'm thinking about: (1) go back to Vegas video 3.0a, as it did have proper device control and keep files on the alternate physical hard drive until speed problem with promary drive is solved and/or (2) remove the TI drivers and attempt some other driver, but what driver and how?
jthor wrote on 8/23/2002, 6:58 PM
I have a Sony TRV840. Very new at VV so reading and trial and error is my education. I just encountered the same problem with Print to Tape in Capture. Capture controls the camcorder fine via firewire. Anyway, after the Print to tape failed I saw where VV has print video to DV tape, which I did and it worked fine. Controlled the camcorder and gave me a good tape. So I shall watch this exchange for the future, or if I stumble across something that works, will let you know. Meantime, I got a half finished product and love it.
skumar wrote on 8/26/2002, 10:28 AM
IN REGARDS TO MY COMMENT EARLIER, I USED A DIGITAL HI8 TO DO PRINT TO TAPE AND IT WAS FLAWLESS. IT SEEMS AS IF THE PROBLEM LIES WITH THE SONY VX2000 DIGITAL
Lajko wrote on 8/26/2002, 2:57 PM
After everything was tried / removed / reinstalled, the main problem was loading the TI 1394 drivers. Although SoundBlaster Audioligy suggested it, those drivers (even the newest 330 version) cause unbelievable problems with Windows-2000.

I deleted all 1394 drivers... Plugged camcorder into firewire... let Windows do the "Found New Hardware". Let it search Windows Updates for a driver. It will come back (and read that screen carefully) and say it found more than one driver. Just clicking NEXT causes the TI driver to be loaded - again. Be sure to check the box for "Display a list and let me select a driver". Then selecting the MSDV driver everything finished and worked fine.

The other problem was printing to tape from inside VV3c. If everything is on the same physical drive (even if partitioned) Windows hogs the drive and results in loss of data. The color bars and 5 sec of black were OK as they are generasted in memory. The actual video (since it was coming from the hard drive) was flaky, cutting out when there was a data under-run. Having video and temp files on a different physical drive than the one C: was on made things go pretty good.

However, print to tape from VV3c is still touchy and just not as rock solid as doing it from the capture utility. Making AVI file first and using capture to do it always works, but I wish the capture print to tape would allow inserting black at start and end, and optionally color bars, as VV3 has these options.

Hopefully this will help some of you. Remember: TI drivers: BAD! MSDV drivers: Good!. Separate physical drive better than running on same drive that Windows plays with.

Because Windows can go off and do things when you don't expect it and printing to tape os more time-critical than video capture, Another thought is virus checking software: it could slow things down, too. Also don't do anything else while printing to tape (or capturing, for that matter). Shut down some background tasks if still having problems and insure nothig is accessing the internet (unplug the DSL or cable modem connection if necessary).