How do I capture DV video? (Camera is not found...)?

Question

I have a Samsung SC-D372 MiniDV camera. I bought a firewire cable and used it to connect the camera to my computer. I made sure that the camera was on and in the "Player" mode. I installed the video codec I found on Samsung's website. The camera did not show up when I tried the "Scanners and Cameras" or "Add New Hardware" on the Control Panel. I tried using two pieces of software, Windows Movie Maker and Vegas, and with both no camera was found. I have tried looking at all the settings I could think of and nothing has worked.

Answer 1

What kind of computer do you have? What operating system are you using?

Is the firewire port active? If it is, a camera-specific codec is not needed. If Windows, check by right-clicking "My Computer" got to Properties: Hardware: Device Manager... is IEEE1394 visible and working properly? If it is not visible or it is red, then it is not operating.

You will not "add new device" in Windows. The "hardware" that needs to run properly is the Firewire card.

When you connect successfully, In MovieMaker, you will "Capture" the video. Yes, the camera needs to be in Play/Edit" mode.

Consider using WinDV to import the video...