jerry_quinn Loc: Acworth, GA, USA

I have a Sony videocam and several old tapes. I used to be able to load them to my old PC under XP. My new pc has Windows 10 and I can't get the PC to recognize the connection. When I try to upload photos, the camcorder says "connected to PC" but the PC does not see the connection. I'm using the USB connection.

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I just started doing this with my old High 8 videos. I purchased a Vidbox which does the job very well on Windows 10. It is very easy to use. I also got an S-video cable for the video port to hopefully improve the video output from the Sony camcorder.

https://www.amazon.com/VIDBOX-Video-Conversion-for-PC/dp/B01IP6N5MA

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I also purchased an older version of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate (I got version 20) really cheap which does some pretty cool editing on your videos. Not sure how it compares with Adobe Premier Pro but I didn't want to spend a lot of money since I mostly do photography and already shell out for the monthly Adobe Photography plan.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

I have a Vidbox I use to transfer programs I recorded to the DVR in my satellite receiver. When I connected the Vidbox to my desktop computer the video portion of the program wouldn't show up on the monitor but the audio was OK. Thought it might be the audio/video cable from the receiver to the Vidbox but with some testing using my laptop found that wasn't the cause. So I bit the bullet and referred to the troubleshooting guide and the final item asked if I use a dual monitor, which I do. Looks like I will be using the laptop for any recording. I thought about disabling monitor number 2 but was afraid I would have problems enabling it again.

Sycamore Hank Loc: Northern CA

I use Dazzle from Pinnacle to connect my older video cameras and vhs machine to my desktop. It connects to the computer via USB and to the camera there are RCA and S video connections.

tonybear

Howdy Jerry, I too have converted many camcorder tapes to digital using Pinnacle's Dazzle USB capture device. In my case it's an older Windows 7 computer, but the latest Dazzle USB capture device should work with your Windows 10 computer. Just make sure the required driver for the capture device is installed (usually with software installation of the included Pinnacle Editing software). Once this Pinnacle software is installed, when you select the Capture tab you should see options for capturing, either with the conventional AV (composite video/stereo audio, or S-Video/stereo audio) or with the newer DV (Digital Video) process that uses a Firewire/1394 digital cable connected to the tiny Firewire port on your MiniDV camcorder on one end (if that's what you shot the original tape with) and the larger Firewire connector on your computers end. You also have options for quality of the capture as well. Once captured, you could then make further edits using the Pinnacle software, and then burn the edited project to a DVD. Good luck. it's a labor of love for me.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sony camcorders can be very difficult to get to work with a computer. Sony has a program called PlayMemories Home. I hate it, but it seems to be a necessary evil.

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/articles/00018285

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I also had that problem and contacted technical support. I fixed the issue running the program in 16 bit color space. Here is the response I got from technical support to fix the issue:

Hello John,
We are sorry to hear an issue with the video preview has developed.

The issue may be related to a mismatch between the way the software handles the video preview and certain display settings on your computer.

Scaling for the software only.
Right-click the Desktop shortcut for the program and select Properties → Compatibility tab. On this screen, check the box for “Override high DPI scaling behavior”. This may alternatively show up as “Disable display scaling on high DPI settings” or in a submenu called “Change high DPI settings.”



This step should be performed while the software is closed.
This solution may cause the program interface to appear much smaller on computers using high scaling settings in Windows.

Scaling in Windows.
For Windows 7/8/8.1 operating systems , if your scaling options are set to make your program icons appear larger, you may need to set scaling back to the Smaller – 100%. option.

Go to your Control Panel → Appearance and Personalization → Display. On some computers, you can go directly to Display from the Control Panel.
Set the scaling to the Smaller option, similar to the image below:



If you have a slider, you can use that instead or check the box beneath the slider to view the same basic options as the image.

For Windows 10 systems , right-click the Desktop → Display settings and find the “Change the size of text, apps, and other items” selection.
Set this to the 100% option.

In some circumstances, the color mode for your computer may not be working well with the software.
Run the software in reduced color mode.
Right-click the Desktop shortcut for the program and select Properties → Compatibility tab. On this screen, check the box for “Reduced color mode” and select the “16-bit” option.



This step should be performed while the software is closed.

Regarding sound control, the program does not have a way to mute itself without affecting the recorded audio. However, your Windows Volume Mixer should allow you to control the audio monitoring for the program. You can typically access this by right-clicking the Sound icon in windows. This will allow you to control the audio monitoring from active programs, including VIDBOX Video Conversion for PC.

Regards,
Customer Care

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JAN 01, 2019 | 08:50AM CST
Original message
John wrote:

I have a Vidbox for PC conversion box that I recently purchased. I am using an S-video cord between my High 8 camcorder and the Vidbox which transfers to Windows 10. I am having no problems recording the video but it doesn’t show in the preview window but I can hear the sound. I tried reinstalling the program but this didn’t help. It did work at first so I’m not sure what happened. It seemed to happen after I installed DirectX for Pinnacle Studio 20 (which I need for that program).

In addition, while recording, I can hear the sound as I stated but I can’t mute it so I can use my computer for other things while I’m recording.

Thanks for any help,

John Reveley

Sent from Mail for Windows 10



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BebuLamar

I wonder what type of video camera the OP has. If it's really old it could be 8mm or slightly newer Hi8. Both of these is best to use an adapter like others have suggested. If it's either digital 8 or DV then it's best to install a firewire interface to your computer as these often have the firewire port.