USB device not recognized

ripperT wrote on 10/20/2011, 10:12 PM

Windows XP SP3. Vegas Movie Studio HD 9.0. Am trying to capture analog video from a Sony Video 8 Handycam using a StarTech SVID2USB2 capture device. Click Project > Capture Video. Sony Video Capture 6.0 opens with an error message:

The device 'USB 2821 Device' could not be opened. Please make sure that it is turned on and is not being used by another application or user.

What might cause this error and how do I check if it is being used by another app or user?
Many thanks,

Ripper

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 10/20/2011, 10:32 PM

You capture Analog->DV through a 1394 Firewire device in Vegas Vidcap, nothing else is officially supported.

if you are capturing through a USB device, use the native capture program that came with that device.

Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/21/2011, 7:07 AM

Further Musicvid's post:

The Canopus AVDC is probably the best under $200 device for capturing analog as DV.

The ADS Pyro AV Link costs less but has been discontinued. If you can find any of them online, they also do a great job of converting analog to DV!

ripperT wrote on 10/21/2011, 3:48 PM

Many thanks for the responses. The native capture utility that came with the device works poorly. Will not a simple USB-Firewire converter work?

Thanks,
R

musicvid10 wrote on 10/21/2011, 4:33 PM

No, I don't believe that is an option. I'll give you odds that your usb hardware device will not convert to DV.

You can often pick up a used Canon ZR camcorder on eBay for peanuts. These have an analog->DV passthrough that works. In fact, I have one that's been used only for capturing. Never actually shot any video with it.

Another option to consider is a set-top DVD recorder, such as the Panasonic I own.

Chienworks wrote on 10/22/2011, 12:05 AM

"The native capture utility that came with the device works poorly."

I'd be willing to bet that it's not the capture software but the device itself that works poorly. I've never seen a USB SD capture device that was as useful at capturing video as a doorstop would be. Chances are any capture software would "work poorly" with it.

A USB-Firewire converter wouldn't help because Vegas' capture utility is expecting a DV transfer from the camcorder. You're not going to get that without an A/V->DV converter such as the canopus ADVC box or a DV camcorder pass through as mentioned above.