Can't connect Sony HandyCam DCR-HC48

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Can't connect Sony HandyCam DCR-HC48

Hello. I currently have a Sony HandyCam DCR-HC48. With my new iMac, I tried to connect to imove 08, and imovie 06 hd, but it couldn't find my it. I do use a firewire cable to transfer the videos, and tried all of the "disconnect, wait a little bit, and connect again" but nothing works. Does anybody here have any suggestions or solutions? Thanks.

imac, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jun 15, 2009 11:20 AM

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Answer 1

PT

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Jun 15, 2009 12:33 PM in response to ThePhillUp

OK first thing to try is while connected to the Mac, switch the lever from VCR into Camera mode then back to VCR mode and see if they makes it be seen by iMovie.
If not, go to the Apple Menu and pick the About This Mac and then More Info... and see if the camera shows up under the Firewire bus. If it isn't showing up there then your Mac isn't seeing it at all. If it does show up there, then it would be more of an issue with iMovie.
Patrick

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Answer 2

ThePhillUp Author

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Jun 16, 2009 2:16 PM in response to PT

When I go to Firewire bus, my video camera doesn't appear there when it is plugged in. So I guess my Mac isn't seeing it. What should I do now?

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Answer 3

Jun 16, 2009 2:45 PM in response to ThePhillUp

Some Sony's have a menu item called DV Out which can be off or on. It probably saves battery life to turn off the DV port when you are not using it. See if you have one, and see if it is set to ON.

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Answer 4

PT

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Jun 16, 2009 6:12 PM in response to ThePhillUp

As Appleman mentioned, you might check the menu items for different outputs. For example, my old Digital8 you could set the controlling of the camcorder to be either iLink (firewire) or IR. When set to IR, iMovie doesn't see the camera. However it still did show up on the system when I looked in the System info. So back to that...
First and foremost, does the Firewire bus show up properly in that screen showing its specs like max bit rate and such? If it doesn't, you may have a locked up Firewire bus which would require resetting by removing all power from the computer for a few minutes (unplug it from the wall for a desktop and remove the battery for a laptop).
Second, do you have another cable you can try. I have run across that enough times in the iMovie group to tell you that a bad cable is not rare even with new cables.
Patrick

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Answer 5

ThePhillUp Author

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Jul 13, 2009 2:25 PM in response to ThePhillUp

I'm back.

So I finally got a new cable, and it still didn't work. Any more ideas?

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Answer 6

Jul 19, 2009 11:10 PM in response to ThePhillUp

I have a similar problem with a Sony HandyCam DCR-HC40. I'm using a aluminum MacBook Pro (the model from a year ago, before the current unibody form factor), running Mac OS X 10.5.7, and iMovie 09, 08, and HD. Neither Granted Software's Peripheral Vision nor Apple's System Profiler see the camera as connected, and only my built-in iSight shows in iMovie. I've got it connected with an Apple FireWire cable (one of several I've tried from when Macs used to ship with them), and the camera is plugged into AC and set to Play mode before I connect the FireWire.

I wonder if the Sony or FireWire Camera extension/plug-in/framework has been quietly removed in recent OS updates, or disabled by another piece of software (I'm running Parallels, for instance)...

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Answer 7

K J

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Jul 25, 2009 10:31 AM in response to ThePhillUp

I tried the other suggestions provided here and nothing worked. As a matter of fact, my Firewire port was not even showing. I do know that it works b/c I just unplugged my iphone from it and I have used the camera in the past. So, I did all of the following at one time (admittedly poor trouble shooting technique!):

- Unplugged all the various USB devices that happened to be plugged in at the same time.
- Closed all my open apps.
- Checked cable connections and reseated them.
- Plugged the camera in to a wall power outlet (this is what I think was the cure the battery was not enough to power the camera and firewire connection)-
- Rebooted computer.

When I rebooted, the camera was in the "About my Mac" app. When I re-launched iMovie the camera was there and everything is now working.

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Answer 8

ThePhillUp Author

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Jul 31, 2009 9:53 AM in response to ThePhillUp

Ugh, that doesn't work either. Does anybody have any other suggestions, or will it just never work?

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