DVD-Software.info

[DaVinci]

Like many others of you I had a problem of getting my Sony DCR-TRV16E
recognized by Windows XP Professional. After spending several days looking
for a solution in the area of drivers and software I found that the connector
(not the cable itself) was fooling me.

Today I found the explanation and solution. Careful visual inspection of the
4-pin end of the IEEE1394 cable showed that the actual pins are too far
inside the connector. Therefore the actual pins that should mate to the
female connector on the digital camcorder didl not make electrical contact
(or poorly) as a proper connection is blocked by the shield on the connector.

Replacing this cable with a different cable where the 4 electrical pins are
as close as 1 mm to the edge of the shield of the connector did solve the
problem. My camera was immediately recognized under Windows XP Professional
SP2.

I suggest that those of you that have a connection problem with their DV
camera or for those whose camera is not recognized at all to inspect the
4-pins connector end carefully. If you have a cable where the pins are too
far inside that might explain and solve your problem.

Good luck.

DaVinci

[Skookum]

That's great news, DaVinci. I don't have the cam here right now, but just
looking at several of the 4-pin 1394 connectors under a magnifying lens is,
well... let me just say that I can see how getting a good cam connection
could be a problem. There seems to be some variation in how well-formed the
connectors are, especially in the vicinity of the seam (in the middle of the
"curved" / "formed" side of the 4-pin connector).

I made a good approximate measurement of the pin depth (tip of pin to lip of
shield) at 1.1 mm on a new replacement 1394 cable I happen to have on my desk
right now. I'll aim to make and share a set of measurements for all of my
1394 4-pin cables, and the Sony cam's i.Link connector.

Thanks for the lead. If it turns out that 0.1 mm of steel at the tip of my
Firewire cable is the problem, I'll be yore humble servant :-)

--Skookum




"DaVinci" wrote: