VEGAS MOVIE STUDIO + DVD

txshock wrote on 12/26/2004, 7:31 PM
I just got a Sony Handycam DVD201 for Christmas, along with the Vegas Movie Studio + DVD software. I have installed the software but can't get it to acknowledge that the camera is there via the USB port. I noticed on the manual that the software requires an OHCI-compatible i.Link connector/IEEE-1394DV card and cable. If I don't have that exact video card, is that my problem?

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 12/26/2004, 8:37 PM
What video card you have doesn't really matter. You need to add a firewire (i.Link) port to your computer. These cards are available off the shelf at most computer/office supply stores. Even Wal*mart has them. You should be able to get one for about $20 or less. You'll also need a firewire cable, which is probably about $20 as well.

However, looking at the specs for that camera, i'm not sure that the camera has an i.Link port. The specs say "i.LINK®2 DV Interface (IEEE1394): N/A", which makes me think it doesn't have one. If this is the case then you won't be able to capture from this camera with Movie Studio.

If you want to capture and edit video, i would strongly recommend returning this camera and getting a MiniDV camcorder instead.
turbine wrote on 12/26/2004, 11:58 PM
We got the same Sony Handycam DVD201!! but we may have a different problem. I haven't try myself to capture Movie Clips using Vegas Movie Studio (VMS) as I used ImageMixer, the software Sony gave together with the handycam.

Bringing back your handycam and change to MiniDV would be ridiculous as the DVD cam is the latest technology available in the market to replace the outdated MiniDV.

If it's urgent, due to urgency to download your fully loaded DVD+RW, I suggest you capture it through ImageMixer as MPEG2 files and use VMS for editing and burning it CDs or DVDs. Hope your hard disc is large enough to store the Christmas moment.

However, firstly, I can't believe how SONY VMS can't support their own DVD handycam product. Secondly why provide USB2 connection with the handycam anyway if capturing must be made through i.Link?

My problem is different. My captured files, i.e. MPEG2 files/clips taken from the DVD cam has NO SOUND during editing in VMS and the same happens in the end results i.e. CDs or DVDs. I can hear the background sound i.e. speech etc if the video clips (captured MPEG2 files) played in Windows Media Player or in any other DVD programs but frustratingly not in Sony VMS+DVD I just bought long away across the globe.

I suggest you should forward a formal technical complaint and we should wait people from Sony Media Software come back from their holiday to answer our technical problem before wasting anymore $$ by buying another connector or worst changing our Sony DVD camera.
IanG wrote on 12/27/2004, 12:38 AM
>Bringing back your handycam and change to MiniDV would be ridiculous as the DVD cam is the latest technology available in the market to replace the outdated MiniDV.

Not so - Chienworks is absolutely right!! MPEG-2 isn't a replacement for MiniDV, it's an alternative, and a vastly inferior one if you want to edit your video. The handycam's are just that - handy. You can take the mini DVD and put it straight into your player, but any attempt to edit your footage will be slow and complex and will degrade the quality. And that's assuming you can overcome the audio problem.

The problem with the audio is that it's in AC-3, a format that MS along with most consumer level editing packages can't handle.

If the handycam, along with Videoshaker, does what you want then that's great. If not, take Chienworks' advice and change your camera for something more useful.

Ian G.
Chienworks wrote on 12/27/2004, 4:54 AM
Turbine, SONY Electronics (the producer of the Handycam) and SONY Pictures Digital (the producer of Movie Studio) are the same in name only. Other than the word "SONY" they are completely separate companies. It would be nice if their product lines were more integrated, but they're not. This is also not anything new. This particular problem with the DVD cameras has been discussed at length in these forums for probably more than a year now. The concensus is that the DVD cams are fine if you merely want to shoot your video and pop it into the DVD player for instant viewing. If you want to do anything more than that, then DVD cams are the wrong hardware. MPEG-2 is more compressed than DV and doesn't edit as well.
Clarke wrote on 12/27/2004, 6:02 PM
My company has a 201 model too.
I looked through it and can't find the Firewire port.

But there is a requirement for wanting to view the videos.
You got to 'finish' it.
My guess is that it is like those initial CDR programs where you got to close the CDR before you can access.

You do not need a firewire port as you are supposed to either copy the files from the DVD disc (while in the camcorder) or take it out (after finishing it), put into your PC's DVD drive and copy it out.

That's my guess anyway.
Chienworks wrote on 12/27/2004, 7:18 PM
But, if you do that, it's still going to be an MPEG-2 file with AC3 audio. These are horrible things to start with if you're going to edit and re-render.