Help - I have a new Sony Handycam DCR-SR72. I am attempting to install the supplied disc, so that I can download my first attempts onto the computer.

I get to the point in the install where I connect the camera via usb to the computer, and on pressing what I think is the connection logo on the handycam screen, after "preparing" - it just states, "Connecting" and "Do not remove USB etc" - and that goes on forever, and no connection is made, no matter how long I have it connected via USB. Nothing actually happens.

I am obviously doing something wrong. Any chance of an idiot's guide to setting up Install and first connection prior to download? Thanks.

[rhubarbe]

Edited my post as this is a HDD cam. I'll have a think abut it.

[rhubarbe]

Well, you see, for a start you shouldn't need to have to install any software from a disk in order to transfer video from this cam to a PC. The camcorder should be recognised and a drive as soon as you connect it to the PC using a USB cable. When it connects you'll see the camcorder in "My Computer" as a drive, like C, D, E, F, It'll say removeable somehting or other.

I have had instances of devices not wanting to work in a similar situation but these were generally incorrectly formatted disks and yours shouldn't be.

As a general rule, turn both devices off and then reboot them both, see if that helps. Is the camcorder switched on when you try to connect?

When things don't work it can be terribly frustrating. I'll keep pondering and I expect somebody wise will come along in a bit.

Thanks for help so far.... still struggling...

Initially I followed the on screen instructions when trying to install the provided disc. It gets to a point where it says to connect the camera, switched on, via the USB. So I put it in the cradle, and connected the USB lead - PC to cradle. There are two logos on the Handycam screen - one is shaped like a fat disc, the other a sort of oblong rectangle with an open end. No matter which I press, I get the message "Connecting..... Do not unplug the USB cable. Do not turn off the power" And that stays there, and nothing happens.

I have just tried it without trying to install the disc - just direct USB - and first go it downloaded the "still" pictures I took (not the video) but my camera screen still says, "Connecting... etc).

Catch 22 - to install the disc, it seems from the instructions that there has to be a connection - camera to PC - which in my case hangs about in limbo.

Connect without the install disc, and there is no sign of the "video" clips downloading.....

[rhubarbe]

Yes, but the whole point of connecting it via USB (without any proprietary software) is that the camcorder will show up as a drive in "my computer". Click on that drive and it will open up a window and you should see a directory for stills and a directory for video. Then all you have to do, in theory, is drag and drop the video mpg files from the camcorder drive window to any other directory on the PC. From there you should be able to play them on any of a dozen players provided that you have an mpeg-2 decoder installed on your PC.

Of course, if the camcorder doesn't show up as a drive then you have a connection problem. More later. Have to go play tennis now.

Thanks Rhubarbe - enjoy the tennis -

The story so far - on the extra drive, I found the 'stills' and have them sorted and in a file in My Pictures. I have also now found a file on that drive named MP ROOT and in that a file 101PNV01. In that are lots of MPEG's, hopefully my Handycam clips. When I try to "Open With" Windows Media Player, it just plays the sound, with no picture...

At present moving them to My Pictures, which is going to take about 40 minutes. Hope they play in there.

If that works, I still need a way to install the provided software disc, which I presume contains some sort of editing suite/software.

Love Thirty...

[rhubarbe]

Before you spend hours trying to load the software, it may or may not contain anything useful. I have loads of Sony kit: laptops, cameras, camcorders, etc and I have never found anything on the supplied CDs worth loading.

It is more than likely that your PC doesn't have an mpeg-2 driver loaded. These are not free but cost about $20 and there are loads of therm about. In fact WinDVD and PowerDVD (maybe one of these came with your PC) are software mpeg-2 players.

Additionally, check that the file extension of the files you have moved to your PC are indeed .mpg files.

[rhubarbe]

My tennis was somewhat hampered by having been stung on the calf by a wasp yesterday. Most people have one wasps' nest at this time of year; we have three.

Anyway, it's hard to chase the wife's passing shots with a left leg the size of Manchester.

Well, I have, after some considerable time, downloaded all the mpegs in file 101PNV01 to My Pictures. They have a logo of a film strip, and in Properties are described as "movie file (mpeg)."

When I open using Windows Media Player, all I get is sound.

When I open with Quick Time - I get the message Error -2048 - the file is not a movie file.

Other video clips I have from my Olympus 'still' camera open OK with Quick Time.

So help, what programme do I need to play these Mpegs?

And is there a programme to load for video editing, if the Sony install is not possible?

A wasp's nest would be far simpler to deal with....

[rhubarbe]

Well no, they aren't Quicktime Movie files, they are mpegs. In order to play mpeg-2 files you need a mpeg decoder. They aren't included with any players because there is a royalty due for each copy in use. If you have WinDVD or whatever the other one was I mentioned, then you get the codec included, but without it being loaded on your PC you can't decode mpeg-2 files.

So, make sure you have one on your PC....

[senu]

Try
VLC

or
GOM
Both free

[craig9430]

Whimsy,

You are not alone, I am experiencing the exact same problem with the exact same model of camcorder.

I really am close to sending it back. Its incredibly frustrating. If I fine a way to fix this I will let you know.

From what I can tell so far. It does not even recognise when you insert it to a USB port. My USB ports are not faulty.

[felix2]

I recently tried to get the local youth club's new Sony HDD camcorder (SR52 I think) clips somewhere they could be edited. They had already loaded the Sony Picture Browser software that came with it, onto a PC with Windows Vista "Business Standard" or whatever it's called. I subsequently also loaded the software onto another machine running something like Windows 2000/ME. When I was installing it on there, I was a bit bemused by the slightly cryptic messages on the camcorder display, but as soon as it said "Connecting", I seemed to manage to carry on installing the program OK. I think it just carried on saying "Connecting" rather than "Connected" but it seemed to work anyhoo.

The program though isn't a video editor. It makes downloading and organising your clips nice and easy, and you can "trim" the clips (cut bits off the start and end), and I think even burn them together onto a DVD. But nothing very much more complicated than that.

We also couldn't get the clips to play properly. The old PC was too slow to be able to cope with MPEG videos in a proper video editing program. And on the new PC, playing the videos in Windows Media Player only played the sound with no picture. And Windows Movie Maker wouldn't import MPEG clips, because it wasn't a flashy enough version of Vista. Don't you just love Microsoft and Sony?

I guess one of the popular free video players Senu recommended (or WinDVD, Cyberlink PowerDVD, Nero Showtime, etc) should play the clips with a pinch of luck and a following wind. And any of the usual suspects when it comes to video editing programs should be able to edit the clips happily (Adobe Premiere Elements, Sony Vegas Movie Studio / Platinum, Ulead Video Studio, Pinnacle Studio, Serif Movie Plus, Magix Movie Editor) - again with a following wind and a 'y' in the day.

Originally Posted by rhubarbe

Most people have one wasps' nest at this time of year; we have three.

Rhubarbe, I haven't got a wasp's nest, you must have mine. Sorry about that. You're welcome to keep it though!

[rhubarbe]

Don't you send that following wind anywhere near my wasps!

Look, I am sorry to keep banging on about this codec but you must have an mpeg-2 decoding codec loaded on your PC or no way will it play mpeg-2 files. It's nothing to do with Vista but the mpeg consortium demands a license fee for every instance of mpeg decoding software in the world.

Also, the editing software that you mention won't edit mpeg-2 out of the box, if my experience is anything to go by. I had to activate the mpeg-2 decoder in Vegas Movie Studio 8 (I believe the widget looks for a valid mpeg-2 codec on your machine before activating the feature).

Most PCs come with WinDVD or PowerDVD and they have an mpeg-2 codec, make sure you have one of them loaded.

[senu]

Originally Posted by rhubarbe

Look, I am sorry to keep banging on about this codec but you must have an mpeg-2 decoding codec loaded on your PC or no way will it play mpeg-2 files.
Most PCs come with WinDVD or PowerDVD and they have an mpeg-2 codec, make sure you have one of them loaded.

Im sure you know what you are talking about
but
Are you sure the "free" players I linked will not play mpeg2 unless you have a "paid for" codec on the system?
It is my experience that with trial software( editing, playback) , even when the trial period ends or you uninstall them the codecs seem to remain on the system
My copy of elements did not ask to be "activated"
Vegas does activate.. once, however it gives you an activation code which you can enter manually if you need to reinstall it in the future
Ironically the full vegas trial doesnt need mpegs 2 encoding ( and in some cases decoding) activated and the full version of movie studio doesnt too

[rhubarbe]

No, I am not talking about activating the software but even in Premiere Elements if you want to open an mpeg-2 file for editing you have to "activate" mpeg-2 editing. I don't know what it does but it wouldn't let me even open an mpeg-2 file until I had enabled it online.

As to whether the free players do or do not contain a codec, I am unsure but let's just say I can open and play mpeg-2 and so can you, but they can't so they must have something missing.

[redsox_mark]

I think you are both right... a lack of mpeg2 codec is likely the isssue. And yes you can get one via free trials (depends on the software).

[felix2]

When I got my PC, it already had Cyberlink Power DVD and Nero Showtime on it. Whether it's because of that or not, it's always been able to play all DVDs and MPEG2 videos, in those players and in Windows Movie Maker, and import them into Ulead Video Studio and Serif MoviePlus (and others) - without any activation or downloads. The only problems I've had have not been with the MPEG codecs but with the Dolby (AC3) audio codecs often used with MPEG video. (Ulead DVD Movie Factory 4 used to have a bug that Dolby audio on its output MPEG videos would not sound in Windows Media Player, but Ulead fixed that. And Serif MoviePlus 5 doesn't have the Dolby audio codec included, so again cannot hear sound - but a free codec is recommended www.ac3filter.net - and the codec will, we're told be added in version 6.)

I'm pretty sure VLC player & all the editing programs have the MPEG codec you need with them - but there's one sure way to find out, and whether you have to activate them. More to the point, I'm sure the video clips from the camcorder play in Sony's bundled Picture Browser software, so that must have the MPEG codec? (Unless it restricts the codec's use to that program only? Wouldn't put that past Sony!!)

[redsox_mark]

For VLC at least I'm pretty sure it does not come with any Codecs... it uses what is installed on your system.

Yes, most people have some DVD playing software installed as standard so they have the codec. But maybe the OP does not.

[senu]

Well apart from even "old" ( almost free) DVD playback software. I just googled "free mpeg2 codecs" and it seems there are more than a few out there so that is also worth trying

[rhubarbe]

That is a classic shareware site come on. It says free until you get there and then you find that you have to pay $20. Trust me, I have looked and looked for free mpeg-2 codecs.

[felix2]

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

For VLC at least I'm pretty sure it does not come with any Codecs... it uses what is installed on your system.

Yes, most people have some DVD playing software installed as standard so they have the codec. But maybe the OP does not.

Fair cop. I thought it came with the codecs too, but I honestly don't know. In which case, not sure about the editing programs too, although they definitely say "Import MPEG videos..."

Originally Posted by senu

Well apart from even "old" ( almost free) DVD playback software. I just googled "free mpeg2 codecs" and it seems there are more than a few out there so that is also worth trying

I've heard all sorts of bad things about people downloading freebie codec packs they've found online (i.e. mucking up other codecs and defaults etc). The cheapest or trial version of DVD playing software or editing program probably seems to be the best bet?...

[rhubarbe]

Yes, WINDVD or POWERDVD will suit just fine and no risks.