BillyBoy,

Are you suggesting that I should not expect too much from Sony?

Prior to sending off my inquiry, I tried getting an answer to my question on this forum, but the threads died before I got an answer. (I think the basic problem is that most everyone here is running Windows XP, has no direct experience capturing HDV in Windows 2000, and, beyond that, doesn't understand why anyone faced with my problem would not simply upgrade to Windows XP.)

The fact remains that Vegas 6 says nothing (to my knowledge) about HDV capture being possible only in Windows XP (even though Vegas 5 and Connect HD allowed capture only in Windows XP). So, before I upgrade to XP, I'd like to know, definitively, whether this is necessary.

My immediate problem with HDV capture in Windows 2000 is that I don't seem to have the right driver for the HDR-FX1 and I don't know where to find it. (The prescription for finding the DVHS driver file in Windows XP does not seem to apply to Windows 2000.)

Russ Snyder

The trend in software "support" for years regardless if its Sony or somebody else as been pay for support, maybe we'll help you. As you discovered email inquries or phone "support" are handled at a more leisurely pase.

Sorry, can't help you with your specific problem I too have XP. One downside of not upgrading to Microsoft later release OS is driver support isn't as brisk for older versions, especially for emerging technologies.

To add insult to injury, I received a form note from the 'Sony response team' several days ago asking me to fill out a seven question survey (all multiple choice) regarding my level of satisfaction with 'my recent interaction'. I responded that I couldn't fill out the survey because there hadn't yet been any interaction.

I hoped that this terse response might open some line of communication. Instead I received a second automated (and inappropriate) reply that lead nowhere.

Sony, if you are truly interested in the satisfaction level of your customers, why do you waste so much time and effort designing support structures that impede, discourage, and disallow a direct interaction with these customers?

Well, we'll see how my support goes. I just sent in a request a few minutes ago and got the same immediate email back. Hopefully, it is quicker than what you experienced.

Dave

You do know you can get free "GOLD" level phone support with Vegas for 90 days. You just have to call to activate it. Much faster support.

It would seem to me that the "ultimate" support would be to "E" mail in your "crash" data to an entitiy (computer) that anaylizes the data and tells you what must be done to correct the problem. The computer would automatically determine what equipment you have and what OS.
If Google can take over the world why not an automatic fixer?

JJK

Thanks! Forgot about that... Come to think of it, I forget a lot of things lately... :)

dave

Orcatek,

Bingo! No, I didn't know that. Thanks so much for the tip!

Have now activated my 60-day free gold plan support for Vegas 6 (call 1-800-577-6642), and finally got to talk with a real person. She assured me that my email inquiry was still in the system and will be answered sometime reasonably soon.

Moreover, she was able to delay the actual start of my two month support until my next call. As I am about to take off for the summer and will not really get into Vegas 6 until the fall, that suits me just fine. Hopefully, I will know by then whether or not I will need to start by upgrading to Windows XP.

Russ Snyder

I agree with Bill on this one. The ultimate support comes from fellow Vegas users. The level of it is unlike anything I have seen on any other forum. It is genuinely sincere help and is a large part of the reason many of us stick with Vegas as an editor. If the forum ever wen't I am sure Sony knows that a lot of Vegas users would go too.

John

Edit: You are strongly encouraged to use WinXP SP2 if you are working with a Sony HDV camera or deck (in any HDV-capable software, ours or not). HDV file read, write, transcode, project templates, field handling, etc is all doable in Win2k and pre-SP2 XP using Vegas 6, but getting Windows to load the camera/deck driver (assuming you can get it to load at all) can be a nightmare. HDV driver loading in XPSP2 is automatic, no manual fiddling (usually).

Actually, I've had problems with capturing video on a Win 2K system. I think it has something to do with the drivers used for video in 2000. My company has a medical video capture application and we don't support Win 2K because of that problem. Everything works fine in XP.

Anyhow, I'm having a problem myself with Vegas 5. I have the Dazzle 80 USB capture device from Pinnacle that works pretty good, but the audio comes in flat (no high or low range). I tried bypassing the sound input of the Dazzle and use the audio input of my SoundBlaster Audigy card, but it then produced and "echo" when recording. Tried to get rid of the echo, but then lost audio capture all together (could hear the audio come over the speakers, but would not record when capturing - captured video clip had no audio.)

I then tried to get an internal video capture card by Adaptec, and Vegas wouldn't recognize it at all.

Does Vegas 5 (or any other version) require a specific video capture card to work properly? If so, what brand/model number do I get?

My computer is a Dell Dimension 8400, P4 w/HyperThreading Technology, 4GB RAM, PCIExpress NVidia Video Card (output) and one available PCI slot for an additional card.

I use a Pyro firewire card and have never had any capturing issues with it. Vegas 4 thru vegas 6.

dave

ForumAdmin,

The HDR-FX1 shows up in device manager under 'imaging device'. If I try to update this driver via Windows Update, it finds the same driver and does not give me a choice of a different one.

Elsewhere I read that the HDR-FX1 should be showing up under 'sound, video and game controllers'.

So where should it show up, how do I get it to show up there, and how do I get the update driver wizard to give me a choice that includes 'Sony D-VHS device'?

Russ Snyder

Today I finally received a response from Brian P. at Sony support.

Unfortunately, he tells me what I have suspected all along, that HDV capture from the HDR-FX1 is only possible in Windows XP - more particularly, that the D-VHS device driver for the HDR-FX1 can only be loaded into Windows XP.

So, unless things change by the fall, I will be (reluctantly) upgrading to Windows XP. In the meantime I will be on the road in the Canadian Rockies and Alaska, stalking grizzlies, moose, caribou, etc., with my new toy.

Russ Snyder

Forum Admin,

Sorry. Just noticed that you edited your original response on 5/24. Had been looking for an additional response.

You suggest it might be possible to somehow manually get the proper driver into W2000. Is this something I should pursue, or should I forget it?

Russ Snyder

I think what you need to know is something like this.
Yes you might be able to capture from a HDV camera/deck with Win2K however you will not be able to use the Cineform intermediate codec. Also Vegas 6 uses hyperthreading for both encoding and rendering so you're going to miss out on a substantial speed improvement as HT doesn't work under Win2K.

Bob.

"Yes you might be able to capture from a HDV camera/deck with Win2K..."

...provided you can get the driver to install. As stated, with XPSP2 getting the Sony HDV driver to load is no problem at all and you will saving yourself a ton of HDV connectivity headaches if you bite the bullet and upgrade to XP SP2.

"however you will not be able to use the Cineform intermediate codec. "

not true- you can use the Cineform intermediate codec under win 2k.