RTD SERVICES Electronic Repair Specialists

 

Communication via the camera's DV terminal

Your camera’s DV port (also called iLink, IEEE1394, Firewire) makes it possible for you to connect your camera to computers, other cameras or any device with a DV port, so you can transfer digital data directly from your camera with no loss of quality.

This is a great feature, but care must be taken to ensure you don’t damage your camera.

With the huge rise in popularity of DV cameras and customers doing their own DV editing, we are seeing increasing numbers of these cameras with DV communication problems. The following are some IMPORTANT tips when using the DV port on your camera:

NEVER “HOTPLUG” THE DV CABLE  -  This is the most common cause of DV port failure.

“Hotplugging” is the term used when you have both your camera and the device you are connecting to (usually a computer) is powered on.

This will often damage the DV interface chip inside the camera and can be a very costly repair.

The following procedure is recommended for connecting the DV cable.

  1. REMOVE power completely (AC or battery) from your DV camera.
  2. Turn off your computer/other device.
  3. Connect your DV cable between the two.
  4. Apply power to both.
  5. Turn on both devices.

CHECK YOUR DV CABLE FOR DAMAGE & CAREFULLY CONNECT

The DV socket on most cameras is very easily damaged. Ensure you know which way it should plug in, mark the plug if necessary.

SOFTWARE CHANGES

Software conflicts frequently occur on computers. If you experience problems following the installation of new software on your computer, try uninstalling the suspect software and try again.

 

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