SIIG Card compatability?

southside_g wrote on 1/24/2003, 9:55 AM
Greetings all,

I am about to upgrade to VV3 from Premiere 5.1c, and need to upgrade my firewire card in the process since my old DV200 is not OHCI-compliant.

I am particularly attracted to the SIIG USB 2.0 + 1394 DV Kit card (part number JU-NN0012) which combines USB and firewire on a single card, since I also need to upgrade my USB capabilities to 2.0 and only have one PCI slot left on my maxed-out multimedia system.

However, I am concerned about driver compatability with this card. I suspect (I have not gotten any replies from SIIG yet) that because this is a combo card, there may be driver issues which perhaps may create a conflict with VV3.

Can anyone tell me whether they are successfully using this card with VV3 for device control/DV capture/print-to-tape? Or at least definitively tell me whether there are any compatability problems or other issues in using this card with VV3?

Thanks in advance for any help!

G.

Comments

mikkie wrote on 1/24/2003, 10:18 AM
In Windows I've always tried to go Adaptec for the greater driver support. They have a combo card as well - compusa recently had it on sale for $50 US.

No offense to SIIG fans etc., but I've been scared away from them by past driver experiences.

mike
southside_g wrote on 1/24/2003, 10:54 AM
Thanks for the reply. I have always been a fan of the Adaptec SCSI controllers as well.

This does beg the same question, though, regarding it compatability with VV3 (or vice versa).

Perhaps I should re-phrase the question:

Can anybody recommend a 1394/USB2.0 combo card known to work OK with VV3?
firefighter wrote on 1/24/2003, 11:25 AM
I have been having a problem with VV3 and have been working withj SoFo tech support. They have advised me to change my IEEE card. Their advice: Get a basic no frills 2 or 3 port IEEE card made by ADS, Siig or Orange micro. They say they know those work. I had been trying to use a card that came with a Dazzle device. I then bought a card by Via (with which I also had the problem) So I'm going to be on my third card (without knowing whether it will solve the problem). I would like to know if a combo USB2 card would work also as I could also use the faster USB.
southside_g wrote on 1/24/2003, 11:30 AM
Mind if I ask what the nature of your problem(s) is/are?
MDVid wrote on 1/24/2003, 12:13 PM
I use the SIIG card with 2 USB 2.0 drives, and a firewire drive. (by the way, in spite of the specs, the firewire drive is quite a bit faster). I have never had any problems.

JTH
southside_g wrote on 1/24/2003, 12:38 PM
JTH,

Thanks for the reply :)

If I understand you correctly, you are using the card as a drive controller, which is pretty slick.

Have you had any experience using the card for DV capture/control/print to/from videotape with VV3 though? I would tend to think the issues there might be a bit different as VV3 is "talking" to the card a bit more "directly" than when the card is used as an interface between the OS and the drive hardware.

I could be wrong about that, but I'm just trying to be as sure as I can. The $500+ outlay for VV3 and a card may not be much to some, but my studio gear budget for this year is practically non-existant until the economy decides to pick up again, and I'd really hate to spend it (and the time) just to find out I am dealing with yet another irresolvable Windows driver conflict. ;)

G.
MDVid wrote on 1/24/2003, 12:58 PM
I have used the card extensively with VV3, (not yet with V4) with my GL-1 and with Canopus ADVC 100, and have never had a problem with it. Just my experience.

JTH
Jimnasium2002 wrote on 1/24/2003, 5:36 PM
I have been using the SIIG 3 port firewire card with the Canopus ADVC-100 with no problems. Somewhere in SoFo's documentation the say not to use the drivers supplied with the SIIG card, but to let windows detect the card and let it supply the drivers for the card (I use XP Home). I did that and I have no problems capturing or printing to tape.
firefighter wrote on 1/25/2003, 9:44 AM
Southside,
I have not been able to print to tape without getting blank spots (blue screen. Everything else (capture, editing, streaming etc) works fine. But my primary purpose is outputting to tape (or DVD) and I ghave not been able to do it. I have created a simple 2 minute project and out of 40 times I try to put it on tape maybe 2 or 3 are successful! I will be searching for that new IEEE card today and see what happens when I install it. Its been really frustrating because I think the program rocks.
firefighter wrote on 1/25/2003, 9:21 PM
Well...
I purchased a Siig card USB2 and IEEE combo. Couldn't find a simple IEEE!. It did not work any better than the other two cards I ahve used. I'm beginning to believe that in spite of what SoFo says, the problwem is not with the IEEE card. I wish they(or someone) could come up with an answer. Its getting expensive buying new pieces to test theories that are ultimately incorrect.