Good with analog, but clueless on digital!

[Vidgal]

Just got my new dv camcorder. It seems to work well (Sharp VL-WD650U) -- after I ditched the TDK tape and got Panasonic. The camera is recognized by MSP 6.0 and Videowave IV. Videowave even knows it's a Sharp. However, while the camera is seen and device control works, neither program will let me capture. When I select capture, either program will start and capture maybe 30 frames -- reporting 20 dropped -- then they crash and freeze the system. My firewire is ADS Pyro Pro. It is alone on IRQ 5. My system is as follows with no conflicts:

Anthlon 1 gig
Asus A7V133 motherboard with 4.29 via drivers and latency patch
Matrox G400 TV (shares IRQ 11 with PCI steering -- but this has always been the case and always worked)
Santa Cruz soundcard (IRQ 3)
Pyro Pro (IRQ 3)
USB Active with scanner and Smartmedia card usually connected
No modem
No network card

Do I need to start troubleshooting the machine? Could it be a camera thing? Would another capture utility do anything for me?
Should I have stuck with my old Hi8 and quirky, but seemingly easier analog capture?

Any ideas, notices, potions or clues appreciated.

[Vidgal]

Oops!

Sorry, that's IRQ 5 on the Pyro board. Again, I see no conflicts -- just no dv capture.

[wkulecz]

I think the Via 4in1 are up to version 4.32 you may need these.

You definitely need to run the DVpatchII.exe file from Ulead to update MSP6 to 6.0.2

Don't know a thing about Videowave.

Have you installed the DirectX 8 and its DV update from Microsoft? This helps many systems, and my friend's WinMe system was totally unusable without it. She's since upgraded to windows 2000 with no regrets.

Try unplugging the USB devices before capturing.

--wally.

[wkulecz]

I think the Via 4in1 are up to version 4.32 you may need these.

You definitely need to run the DVpatchII.exe file from Ulead to update MSP6 to 6.0.2

Don't know a thing about Videowave.

Have you installed the DirectX 8 and its DV update from Microsoft? This helps many systems, and my friend's WinMe system was totally unusable without it. She's since upgraded to windows 2000 with no regrets.

Try unplugging the USB devices before capturing.

--wally.

[Vidgal]

Thanks, but I have done all of this, except install the new VIA drivers. I have had the MSP update and the latest Direct X 8 in my system for sometime. Just reinstalled, all of the above before trying to use my camcorder just to make sure.

I've read about issues with these VIA drivers on the VIA hardware site, but then there seem to be issues with all of them. I am ready to chuck the Anthlon thing and go back to Pentium.

Anyone have any suggestions? I have only weekends to do video, if 3 out of 4 weekends in any month are spent doing yet another system install, I can't get much done.

[Vidgal]

Forgot to mention, I also tried disabling the USB stuff yesterday with no effect. Don't see how that would be different than unplugging the scanner, but I'll try it. One last hurrah before I ditch this stupid board.

[wkulecz]

Did you install the second part of DirectX 8 for DV? Its a seperate download called something like DirectX DV update. There should be a link to it on Microsoft's DirectX page. If your latest DirectX8 is only a single file you are mising the DV update part!

If you already got this, I'm out of ideas as I've avoided Via based motherboards for DV.

All the other components are reported to play well together.

--wally.

[Vidgal]

Yes, I've had this Direct X dv add on for some time. Wish it was easier to avoid VIA boards, but it seems like 9 out of 10 boards you find now are VIA, even Pentium boards. Don't know if PIV is better. Looks like Sony is using PIV in their newest VAIO that has a DV burner. If I had a spare $2,500 lying around, that would be a tempting machine. It can even be ordered with 2 80 gig hard drives. Meanwhile -- back on the planet earth -- I will troubleshoot the VIA after I return from a short trip.

Thanks for the suggestions.