Canon Vixia HV40 camcorder, Mac combatibilty?

[tamarock]

Hi everyone, please forgive me I am very new to TVPaint. I've read through my manual, searched through the forums, even Googled to the ends of the Earth for some advice on my problem. I haven't found much, and maybe I overlooked something simple in the manual, if so, sorry for this post! I'm hoping you can help me. I have a Canon Vixia HV40 camcorder that I am trying to capture with on my Mac Book Pro. When I open the video grabber, it shows video from my built in web cam instead. I went to change the source to my camcorder, but it does not list it in the menu.

Looking around I noticed a plug in for PC, but not the Mac, and correct me if I'm wrong, that plug in is just for the capability to capture stills in HD? I'm concerned that my camcorder is not compatible with TVPAINT. I have TVPAINT Pro version 9. I opened up iMovie and it reads my camcorder fine, so I know the camera and cable are working ok. I really don't know what else to do. Maybe it's something silly I overlooked, I can only hope! Will my camcorder not work with TVPaint Pro 9? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[D.T. Nethery]

Hi, Tamarock,

I see here are the specs on the Canon Vixia HV40 :

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contr ... chSpecsAct

In the box includes :
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/contr ... ontentsAct

VIXIA HV40 Camcorder , Battery Pack BP-2L13 , Compact Power Adapter CA-570
Wireless Controller WL-D87 , Component Cable CTC-100/S , Stereo Video Cable STV-250N , USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
Digital Video Solution Disk

Is the listed "Component Cable CTC-100/S" a firewire (IEEE 1394) cable or do you need to buy the IEEE 1394 cable separately ? I think you'll need to buy that separately. For TVP (or most any other animation frame-capture app) to be able to capture video frames through the lens of a digital video camera it needs to be connected via firewire/IEEE 1394 . USB connection or otherwise doesn't have the live-video feed that is needed to capture frames one at a time. The cable will probably be a 4 pin to 6 pin Firewire cable (but check your camera manual and computer ports to verify that).

Oh, by the way , I just took a quick look at the Canon Vixia HV40 user manual posted on the Canon Support site. The relevant info. is on Page 72.
You do need to purchase a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire/IEEE 1394 dv-out cable .

DV_Cable4pin_6pin.jpg (79.31 KiB) Viewed 28835 times

This will let your Canon Vixia dv camera "talk" to TVP in a way that allows frame-by-frame capture using the TVP Video Grabber.

You can buy the IEEE 1394 cable at a local computer/electronics store like Best Buy or the Apple Store or online :
Cables to Go

-David Nethery

[tamarock]

Hi David,

Thank you very much for your reply. You are correct, it did not come with a Firewire cable, but a USB cable instead. I did however, purchase a Firewire cable with my camcorder and have been using that. For giggles I tried the USB but of course that didn't work either. I've also tried connecting the camcorder, I am using the Firewire cable, and turning on the camcorder then starting the computer, but that didn't work either.

Please keep the suggestions coming, they are very much appreciated. I am at a stand still with this.

[D.T. Nethery]

Hi David,

Thank you very much for your reply. You are correct, it did not come with a Firewire cable, but a USB cable instead. I did however, purchase a Firewire cable with my camcorder and have been using that. For giggles I tried the USB but of course that didn't work either. I've also tried connecting the camcorder, I am using the Firewire cable, and turning on the camcorder then starting the computer, but that didn't work either.

Please keep the suggestions coming, they are very much appreciated. I am at a stand still with this.

OH, wait a minute ... I just re-read your first message where you said:

"When I open the video grabber, it shows video from my built in web cam instead."

It's the infamous built-in iSight camera over-riding other devices problem. I've encountered this before. Here's what to do:

You must temporarily disable the built in iSight camera (this is a known issue for Apple and they STILL haven't fixed it ... it's a royal pain, especially if you use the built in iSight for iChat or Sykpe a lot) . You have to move the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component out of it's regular folder. (don't trash it , save it to a different location so you can drag it back to the correct spot when or if you want to use the built-in iSight camera again.)

Here are the instructions:

Disable Built-In iSight Camera or here:

TMO Quick Tip - Disabling a Built-in iSight Camera

Apple didn't give us an overly obvious way to disable the iSight camera that's built in to the iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro, which is a problem for some people that work in sensitive environments. Covering the camera with a piece of tape will do the trick, but in some work places, that isn't enough.

You can completely disable your built-in iSight by moving a single file. Just move the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file from System/Library/QuickTime to another safe location on your hard drive. Be careful what you move, because the System directory isn't a particularly safe place to mess around in. Should you move, rename, or delete the wrong file, you could potentially render your Mac unbootable.

You have to authenticate as an administrator when you try to move QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component, and it will copy to the location you are trying to move it to instead of actually moving. Once the copy is complete, drag the original to the trash.

Removing the iSight component file will disable the camera and prevent any application from using it. If an application does try to use the camera, you'll see a dialog that says the device is in use by another program.

To return your iSight to its normal and usable state, simply put the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file back.

A slightly less radical fix might work: Try going into iChat Preferences and under Video change the default camera from "Built-in iSight" to your Canon dv camera if the Canon shows up in the drop-down menu . (make sure the Canon is turned on and connected via firewire at the time) Then when you want to use the built-in iSight again switch it back. That MIGHT work . But you might have to go to the trouble of moving the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component as mentioned in the links above.

[tamarock]

I will give this a try and get back to you to let you know if it worked, thanks!

[D.T. Nethery]

I will give this a try and get back to you to let you know if it worked, thanks!

Let me know.

By the way , are you in Benny Z's ANM 180 class ? He mentioned someone was having trouble with their camera.

You can email me directly if you want. I'll PM you my email address.

-DN

[tamarock]

I will give this a try and get back to you to let you know if it worked, thanks!

Let me know.

By the way , are you in Benny Z's ANM 180 class ? He mentioned someone was having trouble with their camera.

You can email me directly if you want. I'll PM you my email address.

-DN

Yes, that would probably be me! He's been trying to help me with this as well. First week of class and I'm off to a great start... I've been pulling my hair out over this one. I just moved and deleted the file, now to test it.... fingers crossed!

[tamarock]

Well, now I don't see my beautiful smiling face when I open TVPaint, but, I don't see my camcorder either. "Device" is set to Movie Grabber. There is no video though and pulling down the drop down menu there are no other choices besides "none". Before I moved and deleted that file I could click the "Settings" button and go to the Source tab from there, but now nothing happens when I click the settings button.

[tamarock]

I tried the iChat trick. I didn't see any option to switch the camera source. Also, when I moved the file and then tried iChat, it said "There is no camera attached to this computer."

[D.T. Nethery]

Well, now I don't see my beautiful smiling face when I open TVPaint, but, I don't see my camcorder either. "Device" is set to Movie Grabber. There is no video though and pulling down the drop down menu there are no other choices besides "none". Before I moved and deleted that file I could click the "Settings" button and go to the Source tab from there, but now nothing happens when I click the settings button.

Now I'm going to cry. Ok, move the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component back where it belongs ...

I was sure that was it...

Everything else is as in the tutorial ? The little "V" button on the main project window is enabled ? (on lower-right side of project window)

V_Video_Button.png (6.72 KiB) Viewed 28785 times

At lower left corner of the Layer/Timeline Panel the Background is changed from Color to "None" ?

BG_set_to_NONE.png (20 KiB) Viewed 28787 times

[tamarock]

Yes, I have the "V" selected and Color is set to "none". I moved the file back and I'm staring at myself again . I don't know if this means anything, but, if I click on the settings bottom on the Video Grabber window and then go to source, it has my Built-in iSight camera listed and selected. There are two other options though but they are grayed out and I can't select them. They are "DV Video" and "IIDC FireWire Video".

[D.T. Nethery]

Yes, I have the "V" selected and Color is set to "none". I moved the file back and I'm staring at myself again . I don't know if this means anything, but, if I click on the settings bottom on the Video Grabber window and then go to source, it has my Built-in iSight camera listed and selected.

There are two other options though but they are grayed out and I can't select them. They are "DV Video" and "IIDC FireWire Video".

Ok, at least that's a clue. One of those greyed-out devices is your Canon camera (but what's the other one ? ) So the mystery is : Why Greyed-out ? Why can't they be selected ?

Have you officially emailed TVPaint Tech Support about this ? I'm going to alert them to this thread . Sorry, but I'm out of ideas for tonight.
If I can think of anything else I'll email you . (I'll follow-up with you anyway, but I mean I'll email you immediately if I think of any other ideas to try before you hear back from TVP Tech Support).

[tamarock]

Yes, I have the "V" selected and Color is set to "none". I moved the file back and I'm staring at myself again . I don't know if this means anything, but, if I click on the settings bottom on the Video Grabber window and then go to source, it has my Built-in iSight camera listed and selected.

There are two other options though but they are grayed out and I can't select them. They are "DV Video" and "IIDC FireWire Video".

Ok, at least that's a clue. One of those greyed-out devices is your Canon camera (but what's the other one ? ) So the mystery is : Why Greyed-out ? Why can't they be selected ?

Have you officially emailed TVPaint Tech Support about this ? I'm going to alert them to this thread . Sorry, but I'm out of ideas for tonight.
If I can think of anything else I'll email you . (I'll follow-up with you anyway, but I mean I'll email you immediately if I think of any other ideas to try before you hear back from TVP Tech Support).

I have no idea what the other one is. The only other thing I have plugged in, besides the power for my laptop, is the USB Dongle for TVPaint. No I haven't emailed TVPaint Tech Support. I'm ashamed to ask, what is their email?

Thank you so much for all of your help.

[D.T. Nethery]

Yes, I have the "V" selected and Color is set to "none". I moved the file back and I'm staring at myself again . I don't know if this means anything, but, if I click on the settings bottom on the Video Grabber window and then go to source, it has my Built-in iSight camera listed and selected.

There are two other options though but they are grayed out and I can't select them. They are "DV Video" and "IIDC FireWire Video".

Ok, at least that's a clue. One of those greyed-out devices is your Canon camera (but what's the other one ? ) So the mystery is : Why Greyed-out ? Why can't they be selected ?

Have you officially emailed TVPaint Tech Support about this ? I'm going to alert them to this thread . Sorry, but I'm out of ideas for tonight.
If I can think of anything else I'll email you . (I'll follow-up with you anyway, but I mean I'll email you immediately if I think of any other ideas to try before you hear back from TVP Tech Support).

I have no idea what the other one is. The only other thing I have plugged in, besides the power for my laptop, is the USB Dongle for TVPaint. No I haven't emailed TVPaint Tech Support. I'm ashamed to ask, what is their email? Thank you so much for all of your help.

Check your Private Message box. I PM'd you emails and also one other thing which may be helpful.

-DN

[ematecki]

Very first thing to do, upgrade to TVP Animation Pro 9.5.2.
To do this, in TVPAP go to "Help > Check for updates..."
Then please report back what happens with your camera.

A lot has changed in the video grabber, all new panel, resizeable preview, play the n previous frames (makes making acceleration much easier than just the 'faded' previous frame), etc...

Well, a *LOT* has changed all thru the software !