Firewire..does it wreck a camcorder?

John103175 · 15-02-2007, 11:15 PM

Hi, I have 2 camcorders...I have used Firewire to pass information from and to the computer. I have had one camera repaired because the firewire capability stopped. (It has since stopped working again) The camera / computer did not recognise one another. I have heard (on the Grape Vine) that a modern method is to shut down the camcorder....shut down the computer....connect the firewire cable, then restart everything. Otherwise, you will blow up your camcorder firewire, and make it unconnectable to your computer. This bothers me in a Plug and Play era. What also bothers me is that no one has noticed this problem. Please , Is Firewire causing problems on camcorders? Is the way forward to shut down both, and restart? I don't want to keep paying for camcorder repairs.....can anyone agree...or disagree with my thoughts?
Many thanks in anticipation....JS

John103175 · 15-02-2007, 11:18 PM

I should have added....my original camcorder....the Old faithful, also lost the firewire connection recently...adding to my suspicion that my computer is wrecking my camcorder firewire.....JS

redsox_mark · 16-02-2007, 8:31 AM

The recommendation (from Sony at least) is to always connect the Firewire cable to the computer first, then connect to the camcorder. "Connecting in the opposite order may cause static electricity to build up resulting in a malfunction of your camcorder".

As for disconnecting, it doesn't say, but I do it in reverse order; disconnect from the camcorder, then from the PC. I don't think it is neccessary to shut down, but it can't hurt.

Failure of Firewire ports does seem fairly common. Technically I'm not sure why Firewire is more troublesome in this respect than say USB.

jaymac · 16-02-2007, 9:06 AM

Panasonic also similar to sonys advise + switch pc on first then camcorder.I now leavethe cable connected to the pc and connect/disconnect Cam as and when required.Maybe not advisable but if you have a rear port more practical

John103175 · 16-02-2007, 9:17 AM

Thank you, I like the idea of leaving the firewire cable plugged in at the back of the computer. I am still interested in anyone has had their camcorder firewire wrecked.

jaymac · 16-02-2007, 9:24 AM

I'm not advising that just the way I do it

Ixion · 16-02-2007, 10:13 AM

I have a Sony VX9000E and some years ago the Firewire connection became unreliable; sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn’t.

Fortunately it was insured and it was repaired by the Sony repair facility (Near Heathrow?)
They had to get a ‘card’ from Japan which took a couple of weeks in all, but all has been well since then (Touch wood)

I have always thought that the 4 pin connections are rather fragile compared to the more robust 6 pin connections, bearing in mind the frequency this connection is plugged-in and unplugged.

I also leave the Firewire cable plugged into the P.C, but I sometimes wonder if the impractical alternative of leaving the cable attached to the camera would avoid such problems!

Tonywrj · 17-02-2007, 5:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John103175

Thank you, I like the idea of leaving the firewire cable plugged in at the back of the computer. I am still interested in anyone has had their camcorder firewire wrecked.

Hi,

I had to have the firewire interface in my Sony HD Camcorder replaced within a few weeks of purchase, thank goodness for warranties. I now leave the cable connected to the PC permanently and plug/unplug the camcorder as required (with PC running). I have had no further problems since adopting this policy (almost a year now).

Tony

**senu** · 17-02-2007, 5:54 PM

Perhaps this should be standard advice

It certainly doesn't seem to cause any problems

This peculiar rare but real firewire thing appears to be a Sony thing and affected a "batch" over a certain period. Unfortunately Sony will not make it public if this is the case

John103175 · 17-02-2007, 11:02 PM

I totally feel the same way. I have paid for a Firewire repair to my camera once, and am now needing to again repair the same camcorder. I also need to repair my 'Old Faithful' camcorder. OK, maybe, I have ruined the firewire connection on 2 cameras, because I was not connecting the cameras correctly to my PC, BUT isn't it time this was highlighted in the Camcorder world?

JefUK · 19-02-2007, 5:15 PM

Connecting a PC to a camcorder can certainly knock out a Firewire port. See technical paper on the subject here:-

http://www.newarkvideoservices.co.uk...394article.pdf

redsox_mark · 19-02-2007, 9:30 PM

Interesting... and scary!

John103175 · 20-02-2007, 6:33 AM

JefUK, Many thanks for that, I do believe in future I may just power down everything , connect everything, then power up again. Including power suplies...

JefUK · 20-02-2007, 8:23 AM

It appears that damaged Firewire ports on cameras is really quite frequent, and it pays to follow the advice in the paper. I still have the original Panasonic NV-DS1EN camcorder and fortunately have never had the problem, however I always connect in a powered-off state, and frequently transfer with the camcorder running on battery.

I have 2 friends who have damaged their camcorder ports, and one of them is actually being repaired by the author of the paper as I write. The repairer seems to make a good living from burnt out firewire ports, and on most cameras can now replace the chip only, but even so the cost will be well over £100. A very expensive mistake!

Andrew841 · 21-02-2007, 12:17 AM

Hi guys - am new to this forum

I read all your comments with interest/horror

I've got two Sony Camcorders: a dinosaur DCRPC100e and a more recent DCR HC37e.
My video editing software is also probably now a dinosaur (Adobe Premiere Elements. Version 1.0 ... ahem)

I had no probs with my PC100e and the Premiere elements and I never paid much attention as to how I connected it up.

But then I didnt use the editing software for about 6 months. When I plugged it into my PC firewire port recently the PC didnt recognise it. When I plugged it into my Firewire/i-link on my DVD HDD recorder (also a Sony) it didnt recognise it. Any my wife's laptop didnt find it either.

So I thought my PC100 firewire/i-link had basically failed through old age/wear and tear. Hence the recent purchase of the brand new HC37e...

But that didnt work either. Not on the PC, not on the DVD/HDD, not on the wife's laptop, not with windows moviemaker. nothing. None of that hardware recognised it and all I got was "device offline" type messages.

I ran all the checks on the PC (uninstalling firewire device managers etc...) but no improvement.

Reading your very helpful thread, it seems I may have somehow "fried" the firewire link on BOTH camcorders ??? Simply by not following the correct sequence of plug and power ?

I never knew that Firewire had enough power/voltage to cause such damage, and on my reading of the manual, it doesnt really flag up the risk of getting the connection sequence wrong...

My questions are:

1. Does my story suggest a blown firewire port on the camcorders ? are the "device not found" messages typical of this problem, or would you expect to see some distorted images and sound coming through ?

2. how can I check for sure whether my firewire/i-link port on the HC37 is truly blown ? Apart from getting all these "device not found" messages, is there any sure way of ascertaining whether it is dead ?

3. The HC37 is only 2 weeks old. Will the Sony warranty cover a "blown" firewire port ?

Thanks

(Sorry if my tech speak isnt up to the usual standard of the forum. Like I said, I'm a novice...)

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