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Question

Old Sony DCR-TRV340E camcorder...problems!

May 13, 2011 10:13AM PDT

Hi,

I am a technophobe, with technical problems...so my need is great

My initial problem is a stack of old standard 8 and Hi8 tapes which need transfering to DVD or HDD. When I say need...SWMBO has been wating for years now for this to happen, so that she can view her happy memories of years gone by. Her patience and my excuses have both now run out, so my life now hangs by a thread! And, I suppose as we are both in our late 60's to 70, time is not on our side, lol.

In order to try to achieve this, I have purchased a camcorder to replace the long dead original these tapes were recorded on. I bought a Sony DCR-TRV304E, which is Digital8, but backwards compatible with Hi8 and standard 8 tapes. This cam, although being an old model, is actually new...it was stored unopened, seal on the box intact, until now...so obviously in perfect condition.

The output sockets are...DV (i.Link), USB (mini B), 'S' video, A/V and Lanc. I paid good money for this, as it was advertised as having Analogue to Digital conversion and pass through, which I hoped meant the signal from my analogue tapes could be passed through digital connections, giving me the best chance of a decent transfer to disc. At least, that is what I am told. However, having failed dismally to make these connections work with either my DVD recorder (Sony RDR-DC100) or my laptop (Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11ZU) I am in trouble. I should mention that the add said it DID have this signal conversion, and the specs in the owners manual in the box confirms this...however, in my thrashing around since then I found specs on a Sony site which said it DIDN'T...utter confusion!

When I connect the cam via the DV input on the DVD recorder and ask it to dub to HDD or DVD, it pops a message up saying 'Unable to control the Sony DV/D8 camcorder...please check camcorder, and will not work. When I connect it via the USB lead, despite switching on 'USB streaming in the cam menue, the DVD recorder does not even recognise a device is connected.

When I connect to the laptop via DV, it recognizes the device and activates my software (power director) and ALMOST gets there, but the picture in the monitoring window is either completely broken up with noise bars top and bottom that almost meet, or it switches the camcorder off after 3/4 seconds of running time...utter ruddy failure.

I cannot connect to my laptop via the USB out, because the disc with the driver which came with the cam is for Windows 98/2000/XP etc...but NOT the Windows7 I have...and I can't find one for my OS anywhere online....'aint life a *****?

I should add that if I connect to the DVD recorder via A/V lead, it does play...but the picture quality is absolutely dire.

Please...where am I going wrong?

Best regards,

Dave

Discussion is locked

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Answer
"it was stored unopened, seal on the box intact,"
May 14, 2011 10:42AM PDT

So it's a warranty issue? Armed with your sales receipt get it fixed or your money back.

As to transfers I had to do this for "one last time" for my dad and will not take that on again without some ungodly budget. It involved no less than a collection of players, recorders and a few PCs. The entire system is undocumentable as I had to use no less than a dozen different systems and connections to work through the pile of tapes.

Point? Don't hang your hopes on one device?
Bob

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Not warranty issue.
May 15, 2011 3:53AM PDT

Hi R.Proffitt,

Many thanks for your reply, but no it is sadly not a warranty issue.When I say the cam was new, I mean as in unused...still in box, unopened. However, it has been stored in that state for an unknown number of years...certainly well beyond the Sony warranty period.

I actually bought the thing on Ebay, and as such, I need to ascertain whether in fact the cam IS damaged (despite being stored in it's original sealed box), or whether it is just my lack of technical know-how that is stopping me being able to carry out the transfer. I rather suspect it is me.

All the tapes involved were shot by me, on UK designated PAL camcorders, and so should all be broadly similar, and certainly (acording to the blurd in the manual) be capable of being played back on the new (to me) camcorder.

Best regards,

Dave.

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UK = you have rights. More about it.
May 15, 2011 3:59AM PDT
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UK = you have rights
May 15, 2011 6:17AM PDT

Hi Again,

As I say, we are not talking 6 months here, this thing could have sat in the box for that many years...maybe more...I just don't know.

While I could have recourse to law if this thing is either broken, or in fact doesn't have the features described, I first have to ascertain whether in fact either of those issues exist. It is just as likely (probably more so) that it is just my lack of expertise, my inability to operate the devices and/or softwear concerned, that is the problem.

I can't really start chasing the seller and making accusations untill I am certain that the problems I am experiencing are due to a faulty device....or my lack of technical ability.

Sadly, this may well mean that by the time I discover where the problem lies, it could well be too late to persue the seller, even if I discover it was a faulty item he sold me. Then again, I may be allowed time in law to investigate why the thing won't work for me. I will worry about that one once I have found exactly what the problem is!

But thanks very much for your info anyway...it could perhaps prove very usefull later on!

Best regards,

Dave.

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"bought the thing on Ebay,"
May 15, 2011 6:55AM PDT

Since the seller is not Sony, the fitness of the goods is with the seller on Ebay.

I had hoped to get you the facts needed to get your money back.

As to figuring out what is busted, your posts above seem to show this unit is not operating properly.
Bob

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Answer
For an admitted "technophobe"
May 14, 2011 11:49AM PDT

you're doing quite well. But a fw questions before we get to possible solutions...

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Technophobe.
May 15, 2011 5:10AM PDT

Hi boya84,

All the tapes in the 'stack' I referred to were shot by me, using various camcorders (a Sony, a Panasonic and another which I believe was a badged Sony). I don't recall the models I'm afraid, but they were all UK sourced models with the PAL system, and all were used when back home to play the footage shot over UK PAL TV's. The Footage was shot all over the world, from Africa to America to Australia and onwards...but all on equipment (including the tapes) which was bought in the UK. As I say, they have ALL subsequently been played back on a UK PAL TV, using the cams they were shot with....there is no compatability issue of that type.

The wretched Sony DVD recorder I referred to may be a bit of a red herring, because it plays up when connected to my current camcorder I as well.(a Sony HDR-HC3 mini DV HD camcorder) This little cam has built into it the capacity to recognize the type of device it is connected to, and output in HD or SD accordingly. Despite this facility, when I connect it to the RDR-DC100 DVD/HDD recorder in question, it refuses to recognise the HC3, much as it is doing to this cam now. It will play the tape on the HC3 cam back, but at the same time refuses to admit that it exists, and certainly refuses to record footage from it onto either HDD or DVD using the 'One touch dub' system. I had a Sony expert come to my house to try to deal with the problem, and he eventually determined that the recorder does not have the correct codecs for that perticular job!!! So, lets ignore that rather naff machine for now , and concentrate on the PC, lol.

I was connecting the cam to the DVD recorder and to the PC using a 4 pin to 4 pin 'i.Link' cable, and the cam was in play mode during my unsuccessful efforts to transfer the footage to both devices, but to no avail. I do not have 'MovieMaker or WinDV at the moment, my attempts were made using PoweDirector...which I am told SHOULD do the job...actually, I will look in my programs and see if I do still have WinDVD...I know I did have it.

However, I fear there is more wrong here than meets the eye...certainly my technophobe eye, at any rate, lol.

Best regards,

Dave.

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a few things...
May 15, 2011 6:47AM PDT

1) I recall some of the analog camcorders having a video capture - tape speed - setting. VHS VCRs and tape based digital camcorders have similar... The default, sometimes referred to as SP. The option is to select LP mode. In LP mode, the tape moves slower and while it allows longer tape record time, can be painful when playing back. Do you have any recollection of recording in LP mode? The playback of LP video on the camcorders that captured the video does usually work well - but using a different camcorder for LP playback can be problematic.

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Technophobe
May 16, 2011 1:42AM PDT

Hi boya84,

No, I didn't ever record in the LP mode...I wouldn't do so on principal, because I can't stand not getting the best possible quality out of a device...unless there are no options.

I also had the HDR-HC1 before I bought the HC3, and they are very similar in many ways. Are you saying that perhaps I may not have had had the HC3 switched to converting HD to SD when trying to record from it, which is why I may have had probs with the RDR-DC100 recorder? If so, I don't think that was the problem, because the Sony guy tried all of the options when he came round...the HD to SD was definitely switched on (and off, and on etc., etc.....you name it, lol.) when he was trying to get the thing to work. It may be worth mentioning that it was only the 'One touch dub' part that wouldn't work...he did manage to get it to record using other options, which I now can't get to work with the 340E.

The 'PowerDiretor' was something my son-in-law loaded on to my laptop for me. Because I am a numpty, he does all that sort of thing for me. My OS at the moment is Windows7, and I no longer seem to have WinDV or Moviemaker, though I am sure I had both before. That's what comes of having someone else doing what they think best for you I guess...you end up not knowing what the heck you have got!!!!

Best regards,

Dave.

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good to know you did not
May 16, 2011 5:12AM PDT

record in LP mode, but this does make things curiouser and curiouser.

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DEEP JOY!
May 18, 2011 7:50AM PDT

Hi boya84,

I couldn't download WinDV because they don't seem to do an updated version suitable for my Windows7 OS, so not a good start.

However, after a first refusal, I did manage to download Windows Movie Maker, and guess what....it allowed me to capture the footage from my 340E first try, through the DV port and all, with absolutely no problem....and burn it to DVD effortlessly too!

So...all is well. The new/old 340 cam I bought works perfectly, allowing me to utilise the digital connections, the softwear works perfectly.....I am one happy man, lol, and I thank you for your advice on that.

However, it does beg the question....what the hell is wrong with my Sony DVD recorder, because it now turns out that it won't talk to either of my cams over iLink, whereas my laptop happily works with both......and why would the Power Director softwear not work either? All very strange.....

No matter...I can now keep my good lady happy, so I am happy. Mind you, I have two carrier bags full of 90 minute tapes I now have to transfer in real time to DVD....should take care of the next few years of my life!!!!!!

Many thanks for your help and suggestions then fella....you saved my bacon, lol.

Best regards,

Dave G.

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GREAT NEWS!!!
May 18, 2011 9:50AM PDT

Dave,

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Heads up
May 18, 2011 9:45PM PDT

Hi Bill,

Many thanks for your 'heads up', I will now demonstrate the levels of my technophobia by telling you that I will have to watch where the softwear is storing the imported DV before I can even begin to work out how the heck I can delete it, lol,

I will get there though, have no fear....it will be a little like the iconic moon landing speech all over again Laugh

Thanks again,

Dave