Recording has no sound

johnebaker wrote on 4/14/2022, 4:43 AM

Hi

. . . . . My first 5 captured video .avi files had audio but of the last few miniDV tapes I have captured, have not. . . . .

Are these from the same camera?

How are you connecting/capturing from the DV camera to the computer - via Firewire or through the USB capture device?

Please note that re-installing should be the last ditch option and can make issues worse without the proper cleaning up of files and registry fragments left behind - the installer knows nothing about these.

John EB
Forum Moderator

stephen-l1837 wrote on 4/14/2022, 5:03 AM

Same camera (a JVC GR-DV900), same computer and using a Belkin Firewire cable. I was having the problem before I reinstalled Video Easy. Thanks John

johnebaker wrote on 4/14/2022, 3:09 PM

@stephen-l1837

Hi Stephen

. . . . using a Belkin Firewire cable . . . .

Thanks for the clarification, using Firewire complicates things a bit.

Is there a Firewire card in the computer?

What is the computer specification ? See this topic for what is required and please quote processor and graphics card make/model in full.

Can you post a screenshot of the Recording dialog, showing the audio import device selected.

John EB

stephen-l1837 wrote on 4/14/2022, 9:56 PM

Hi John

It is a desktop I am using with a Gigabyte mainboard with onboard Realtek HD audio, Intel HD Graphics 4600 and an Intel Core i5-46700 CPU @3400 GHz. The desktop also has 16GB of RAM and a Samsung EVO SSD C drive. I bought a Firewire card as neither Win 10 nor Video Easy recognise an analog device via straight USB. I have used Firewire in the past to transfer video from this camera. I thought I had transferred all my video tapes but I realised recently that I had not, and hence my current need.

I am curious about 2 things you have said, the first being about Firewire; it seems you are implying there is another method to transfer the video. Is that so, and what is it? The second is in regard the Dialog box showing the selected audio device. I have not seen this nor can I find it. Can you explain step by step how to get to this dialog box please.

Thanks and regards

Steve

johnebaker wrote on 4/15/2022, 2:41 PM

@stephen-l1837

Hi

. . . . the first being about Firewire; it seems you are implying there is another method to transfer the video . . . .

Video Easy should have come with an analog to USB video converter - the camera is connected to this using the AV camera cable(s) which have yellow, red and white RCA plugs on one end, the other end is probably a 4 pole ( 3 ring and tip) jack plug.

The camera would also appear to be capable of transferring the video over USB, IIRC software came with the camera to enable this, whether it would work on Windows 10 is the question.

. . . . the Dialog box showing the selected audio device . . . .

Depending on the version of Video Easy you have the input settings should be in first or second section of the Record dialog where you select the video and audio input device, eg in Video Easy 6 for analog input they are as shown below - the DV/Firewire record dialog should be similar.

HTH

John EB

stephen-l1837 wrote on 4/15/2022, 9:30 PM

Hi John

The smoke is slowly clearing. Firstly, I got my copy of Video easy from your partner company, Ashampoo and it came with no hardware. Secondly, the software is Version 7.0.1.145 (UDP3), UG Code 8141 KA2. Yes, the camera did come with software which I unfortunately no longer have - I would have bought the camera around 20 years ago. I did use Firewire back then to transfer video from the camera to my Desktop. My copy of Video easy has a menu screen which has a selection for cameras able to record video digitally -see jpeg file 1 - and the following screen has choices between 3 types of digitally recording cameras - see jpeg file 2. I have been using the top option as my camera is described as mini DV. Selecting this option leads to the import screen, jpeg 3. As you can see the software assumes I will be using Firewire and it readily recognises my camera. jpeg 4 shows the transfer screen which does not have any options for selecting audio input; I had imagined that Video easy picked up the video 'card' in use. While preparing these screenshots, I opted to use the middle option to see if I got a different outcome, and in a sense, I did. A message box appeared in English stating that to use this option, Video easy would need to install an MPEG-2 CODEC. I acknowledged this and the software began the process but came back with an error message, in German - jpeg 5. My German unfortunately is limited to a few words, one of which is nicht. I could therefore understand that the CODEC could not be installed. At no stage when I have used the mini DV camera option has the message box appeared stating the MPEG-2 CODEC needs to be installed. Remember the first 5 videos I transferred did have audio on their .avi files, which implies the CODEC is installed.

Please keep in mind that DV cameras record at a slightly higher resolution than analog recording cameras - VHS, S-VHS, Video 8 and Video Hi 8 - and the USB device you describe does not usually transfer at the higher resolution.

I look forward to your reply

Regards

Steve

emmrecs wrote on 4/16/2022, 3:53 AM

@stephen-l1837

I am not @johnebaker but first, please remember these are user to user forums, so no-one here is employed by Magix and this is not our company.

However, as John says, Video Easy would normally have been supplied with the USB dongle; the fact that the Ashampoo version does not include this is surprising, to say the least!

However, although I don't have VE I do, quite regularly, use Firewire to transfer footage from (mini)DV cameras to my computer. In my experience, two (or perhaps three) factors can affect the success, or otherwise, of this transfer method: The FW driver that Windows is using; the chipset of the actual FW card in the machine; the cable being used.

The advice I have seen several times in a number of different forums is to ensure the FW card has a TI chipset. (I also have an audio interface permanently connected to my computer by FW and the card has a TI chipset; it just works!)

There are TWO drivers which Windows can use for FW, the "standard" one for Win 10, and the older "legacy" driver. If you check in Device Manager, which does it show you as having and using? You could try changing whichever you have to the other one; if the change is not successful you can revert to the earlier one without problem. This, rather lengthy page (sorry) give s a very full explanation of how this can be done, along with a lot of very useful information about using FW for video transfer.

That same page also mentions the different cable connections. Have you tried using a different FW cable between camera and computer? it is not unknown for one, or more, of the connectors to stop working.

HTH

Jeff
Forum Moderator

stephen-l1837 wrote on 4/20/2022, 2:05 AM

Wow, Jeff, where did that come from? Defensive, rude? Certainly off topic and done over the top of John, also a Forum Moderator. To say I was surprised was an understatement. Firstly, my original post briefly outlined that VE had worked in providing a transferred .avi file, including audio, initially, but then on subsequent attempts, VE seemed to have only captured the video, but not the audio component of the digital tape. I pointed out that other software - particularly WinDVD, ExState DV Capture and Ulead Video Studio 11 SE - had transferred both audio and video using the same hardware and Win 10 settings. My question to the forum was could anyone help with re establishing EV as my transfer software? John had made a start on trying to help me when you stepped in. The problem is obviously a MAGIX Video easy issue, and certainly not a hardware or Win 10 issue. I haven't responded to you until now as I have been transferring the video from my tapes to my PC using alternative software and have now completed that job without any problems. All .avi files have audio without any modifications to my setup as I had in place when I began with VE. The last task I undertook was in attempting to use VE again to transfer my last tape to my PC. Whereas the alternate software did the job without fuss, VE did it without audio. I appreciate not many people have experience with Firewire, and less still with Firewire and VE, but I had asked the question on the off chance someone in the forum may have had both. As you are aware, Firewire is a brilliant transfer system, and its success is not dependent on the interface transfer software. Thanks to John, and anyone else who had considered my question. Now to transfer my VHS, S-VHS and Video 8 tapes - I wonder if VE is up to that task?

emmrecs wrote on 4/20/2022, 3:36 AM

@stephen-l1837

I apologise if you understood my previous reply to be taken as criticism of you! It is simply that these forums are entirely for user to user interaction and this is not something that posters always appreciate; as a general rule, Magix staff do not actively participate in the forums, though I know they periodically visit and view to "keep an eye" on what is going on. Perhaps I should have added this 😉 at the end of the first paragraph of my post!

I hope you do not view the remainder of my post as anything other than an attempt by another user who quite regularly uses Firewire for tape to computer transfers to help and advise you. In that sense I feel your comment that my reply was off topic is unwarranted.

I am glad that you have been able to work around the problem you experienced.

Jeff