Avoiding An Unnecessary Repair- Must Read Article Before Connecting The Firewire Cable Of Your Sony or Canon Camcorder up to the Computer
We receive a large number of Sony and Canon video cameras in for service due to the camcorder not communicating or connecting to the computer. There are easy steps you can take when hooking your camcorder up to the computer to cut down on your odds of needing a repair. If you hook your video camera up to the computer incorrectly you are taking a chance of causing an expensive repair. The connector on the camcorder that is used to connect it to the computer is referred to as the firewire, DV, iLink or IEEE1394 port.
Step One: Make sure your camcorder is in the off position and your computer is turned off. Never hook you camcorder up to the computer when the camcorder or computer are on. If you want to take an extra step, remove all power from the video camera such as the battery or AC adapter.
Step Two: Plug the DV firewire cable into the computer and then the camcorder. Be very careful not to plug the cable in backwards or upside down, this is very dangerous for the camcorder. You could short the DV circuit and might need to send your camcorder in for repair. Also, the DV port is not a durable connector. It doesn’t take a lot of abuse to damage the pins inside of the DV port. Be careful when plugging in the cable. Don’t rush and get sloppy, you can damage the port much easier then you think.
Step Three: Power on the computer, allow the computer to finish booting up before turning on your camcorder. When the computer has finished booting up, then turn your camcorder on. Now launch your editing program. At this point your computer should recognize your device and you are ready to capture.
Step Four: Disconnecting the camcorder from the computer. Turn off the camcorder and computer and then disconnect the firewire cable from the camcorder and computer.
If the DV port on the camcorder is loose, making an intermittent connection and simply does not feel right when you are plugging into it, do not continue to use the DV port. You are taking a chance of shorting the DV circuit resulting in a more expensive repair bill. It is OK to continue to film with the camcorder, just do not plug into the firewire port until it is properly repaired.
If you are having problems connecting you Sony or Canon video camera to the computer or have any question in regards to the correct way of hooking the camcorder to the computer please call us anytime.
