HDR-FX1E incompatible with Firewire 800 and/or OSX 10.6?

[DavidFreedomRose]

I have a HDR-FX1 Camcorder (SN 1410243) and it is not being recognized by the iMac OSX 10.6.4 --> it does not show up in the System Profiler under Firewire, and it does not show up iMovie or Final Cut Pro.

I have ascertained that the cable is functioning properly and I have tried the camera in 3 other new Mac computers, with the same problem. The computer only has a Firewire 800 input. Apple Support have told me that as the Firewire port lists the default speed in the System Profiler app, that this indicates that the port is working properly, so I do not think there is a problem with my Firewire 800 input socket on the back of my machine.

I am wondering if there might be compatibility issue with the software inside the camera being incompatible with the new Firewire 800 protocol. Though this would seem counter intuitive, as I cannot see why the new protocol would not be backwards compatible. I am at a loss to work out what is going on.

I would be very grateful if you could help me. I have written to Sony bout this and asked them the same question. I will post their reply.

Thank you.

David

[acgold7]

It does seem unlikely that it is a FW800 issue. Obviously, as the cam doesn't support this speed, the best you'd get would be FW400, but it shouldn't be entirely invisible to the OS.

Obviously, the cam is in VCR mode, yes? Has it ever worked? If not, did you buy the cam new or used?

As you've determined the cable is okay, can you try the cam on a non-Mac, non-FW800 device? Possible you've got a blown port on the cam. Have you ever hot-plugged the cable at either end? Always do all your FW connections with all devices powered off. When you connect the cam to the Mac, does the i.LINK icon light up in the cam's LCD? Does the HDV indicator change from IN to OUT?

[DavidFreedomRose]

Thank you Adam for replying.

Actually, I am not absolutely certain that the cable is OK. Really what has happened is that the same thing happens with my camera on another working cable in my & 3 other new Macs. I am assuming the new Belkin cable works, but I can test it on my friends camera soon.

Also I can test that the camera is outputting via my old Firewire 400 cable into my old powerbook when I visit my other friend who has that machine. Then I can determine that the iLink output in the camera is actually working.

Yes the camera was in VCR mode. And yes I have hot-plugged the cable at the Mac end.

I will turn off the computer now and connect the camera to answer your other questions.

[DavidFreedomRose]

The camera captures in iMovie 6.0.3 (267.2) under OSX 6.0.3.

I have just had a long conversation with Apple Support on the telephone, the upshot being that Sony needs to update the firmware on the camera.

I have written to Sony and am waiting for a reply. I will post when I hear back from them.

[acgold7]

The FX1 has been discontinued for a while now, so there is absolutely no chance Sony will update the firmware. They may offer you a workaround.

Glad you were at least able to diagnose the problem. Sounds to me like it's Apple's OS that is broken, not the Sony firmware. Seems to me it's up to Apple to offer a patch, as it's their update that rendered the cam invisible.

There may be some third-party apps, like Cineform, which would allow you to at least capture the footage, which you could then import into FCP.

Edit: A little further investigation shows there are many problems with FCP/OS X seeing HDV cams, many models from many makers. Might be a good idea to plumb the Apple forums for solutions, which generally recommend trashing all your preferences.

[Moved to Editing forum as it appears that's where this issue lies.]

[DavidFreedomRose]

As hardware problems have been ruled out and the Camera successfully capture in iMovie 6.0.3 (267.2) under OSX 10.4.11...

Can anyone please verify that this camera is recognised under OSX 10.6.4 or 10.6 at all. Do you have experience of this camera working under this system version ???

[acgold7]

No need to start a new thread on this.

Topics merged and titles changed.

[DavidFreedomRose]

OK. Apologies for being over thorough and thanks for educating me.

Coldsweat in macrumours.com forum reports "Yes they do work together, we use FX1E's with both a 27" iMac Quad (FW800) & a MacPro (FW400), both running FCP 7.0.3 on OSX 10.6.4

Although I'm not technical, so can't offer any real help (other than confirming that it 'should' work), my settings in FCP under Audio/Video Settings are......

Capture Preset - HDV
Device Control Preset - Sony HDV 1080i50 FireWire

& the camera settings are....

VCR HDV/DV - AUTO
iLink Conv - OFF
A/V->DV OUT - OFF

The above settings obviously assume that you filmed in HDV. & don't forget to keep it PAL/50fps all the way!

Hope you get it sorted!"

[Doughie]

The above settings obviously assume that you filmed in HDV. & don't forget to keep it PAL/50fps all the way!

"50fps" - in this case the "f" will mean fields, not frames. FX7E shoots 50i, 50interlaced fields per seconds, giving it 25frames-per-second of interlaced footage.

[acgold7]

It's best if VCR HDV/DV is set to HDV. Confirm that REC FORMAT is HDV, it says HDV1080i in the LCD while you are shooting and playing back, and the blue HDV is lit up on the side of the cam. And again, when you connect the cam to the Mac, does the i.LINK icon light up in the cam's LCD? Does the HDV indicator change from IN to OUT?

Have you tried resetting the camera?

Can you post a screen grab of your FCP settings, and can you take a picture of the cam's LCD screen both while you are shooting and while you are trying to capture? Those would help greatly.