xl1s problems

buford wrote on 4/16/2002, 12:57 PM
Hi,

I have been using a sony Digital 8 camcorder to transfer video into video capture in VV2.0. I recently got an XL1s and when i hooked it up to transfer video, most of the time it wont recognize the camcorder, and when it does, it bogs the whole system way down and eventually crashes. I had no problems with my Sony. Could this be because there was software loaded for the Sony that is conflicting with the Canon? If i turn off the dv device control, it works a little better, but still does not always recognize the camera. I have tried starting the camera and then video capture, and vice versa. My system is:

Compag
1.3G
512M memory
40 Gig drive

I am using video capture version 2.5b build 72

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Dave

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 4/16/2002, 1:12 PM
I've seen it suggested that you download and install the demo of VideoFactory 2.0c. This will give you Video Capture 3.0, which you can use even without purchasing VideoFactory. It's had lots of bugs fixed and features improved over 2.5.

Search the forum for xl1s. There are apparently quite a few issues with this camera. Several other users have posted workarounds.
Ron Lucas wrote on 4/16/2002, 10:15 PM
I own two XL1s camera's and can capture ok with VV30a. However, once the capture utility loads, my computer becomes sluggish while in communication with the camera. It works, but sometimes I get lost frames and I wonder if it's because of the sluggish behavior. I have a Dell P4 1.6Ghz computer with 512MB RAM and 2 - 100GB 7200RPM hard drives.

Ron
deef wrote on 4/22/2002, 10:27 PM
Right, we've responded to these "sluggish" posts before and have indicated that it's an issue with the chipset that's used on these devices (Canons and JVCs). The problem is that this chipset doesn't properly handle data and command requests properly and locks the 1394 bus improperly. Sonys do not exhibit this behavior.

That said, it may be possible that in a future release we provide an option to the user to disable device status checking which would prevent this "sluggishness" with these devices, however then you'd have to manually choose to select the current tape, etc. The next update should provide for this when DV device control is disabled, however no guarantees as to when a more broad status disable will be available.
Luxo wrote on 4/22/2002, 10:54 PM
Ron,

Sounds like you have a similar system to mine. I have a Dell P4 1.8Ghz and 2 XL1s cameras. I too drop frames occaisionally, both on capture and print-to-tape. I've tried three firewire cards, and they all seem to provide slightly different results. In all cases the firewire card has it's own IRQ.

I noticed recently that my hard drive had some bad sectors and I've just replaced it today. I was hoping that was the problem, but I guess not, having read your post. I would appreciate it if you'd keep us updated on this forum in case you discover any fixes.

Deef, I look forward to seeing if disabling device status checking does the trick.

Luxo
Ron Lucas wrote on 4/23/2002, 9:53 AM
Luxo,

Since we share simliar systems, I was wondering if you also have this problem with the VV30a Capture...

Some of the clips I capture from the XL1s cameras don't have the end points of the video and audio exactly lined up. Some clips are just fine. However, the ones that do not have the end points lined up always have the audio portion just a bit longer than the video. The problems this presents me are:

1 - If I drag the end point of the video portion of the clip, the audio does not move with it. I must move the audio portion. It's not really a big deal.
2 - If I listen to the audio at the end of the clip, it seems to slow down causing it to sound like the devil or something weird like that.
3 - My audio always show up as 32K rather than 48K which my XL1s cameras are configured for.

Anyhow, I don't believe the problems lie in my XL1s cameras or my computer as these symptoms exists on my Dell and my Compaq computer which both have different 1394 adapters.

If you have run across any of these symptoms, I'd really like to hear about them.

Thanks,
Ron
ron@ronlucas.com
deef wrote on 4/23/2002, 3:15 PM
We're looking into fixing 3 for the next update.
Ron Lucas wrote on 4/23/2002, 3:24 PM
Great news deef! Thanks for the update.

Ron
Luxo wrote on 4/23/2002, 6:51 PM
Ron,

I can't say I've experienced either of your first two problems, but it's been months since I used audio from the camera. I've been doing photo montages and other video projects that only use music soundtracks. So it's quite possible that I will encounter these issues, and I'll follow-up with you if so.

My audio does show up as 32K, and I'm glad to hear a fix is in the works.

Luxo
Cheesehole wrote on 4/24/2002, 2:00 AM
yes, sometimes I get the 32K problem too! I think #1 and #2 are probably related to #3. I have noticed similar symptoms. it should be noted that I am *shooting* with a GL-1 but I am *capturing* with a Sony DSR-11, which incidentally still doesn't have auto-print-to-tape-from-timeline capability for me, but that is a different issue :)