Is this normal?

[Chuck Engels]

No, not disable and then enable, you need to disable and then restart the computer.
Windows will then install the device like new and automatically enable the "new" device.

[Dave McElderry]

No, not disable and then enable, you need to disable and then restart the computer.
Windows will then install the device like new and automatically enable the "new" device.

I see. Well, at this point I think peggig has either figured it out or missed the deadline. We tried.

[peggig]

Thank you all so much for your help! You guys are wonderful!

So, I took your advice, Dave, and removed the card (which turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought because we actually had to remove the video card to get enough room to remove the firewire card). After reinstalling the video card, i turned on the computer, checked Device Manager to ensure that the firewire card wasn't listed, turned off the machine, reinstalled the firewire card (in a different PCI slot for easier access), and booted up the computer again. Tried to upload from the camera, same negative result. I then changed the firewire driver to the Legacy driver, rebooted the computer, same negative result. I checked Device Manager to ensure the Legacy firewire driver was enabled and the device was working properly (according to Device Manager). It was. I even rebooted it with the camera connected. Device Manager acknowledged the presence of the camera, but neither PRE7 nor HDVSplit recognized that it was connected.

I was at a total loss. Then my husband suggested plugging in the speakers. I couldn't imagine what plugging in the speakers could possibly have to do with PRE7 and HDVSplit recognizing the camera, but I plugged in the speakers, rebooted (for luck), and tried again. PRE7 capture worked! In the capture window, the camcorder was still listed generically as "Microsoft DV camcorder" but, after a few moments, a notice popped up on the taskbar that the Canon camcorder driver was being installed. Then PRE7 acknowldeged the device as a Canon Vixia HV40. Now everything is working perfectly.

The moral of the story is, if anybody ever has this problem, and it isn't responding to the usual solutions, they need to make sure their speakers are plugged in! I have no idea why, but that solved the problem. Go figure.

Anyway, thanks again for your patience and your helpfulness! I hope that, by posting this here, somebody else will be able to benefit from my experience.

[Dave McElderry]

Color me skeptical, but I'm not ready to buy into the "plugging the speakers in made it work" thing. If you unplug the speakers and it stops working then I'd buy it, but i still wouldn't have any idea why. Nonetheless, congrats on getting it going!

[peggig]

Well, Dave, I also have a hard time imagining what plugging in the speakers could have to do with PRE7 and HDVSplit being able to recognize the camera. And, when I finish this project, I'll probably try unplugging them and see if it has any effect. But right now, everything is working, and I don't want to mess with it. :)

BTW, it turns out I didn't need the firewire connection to upload the files from the AVCHD camera, because it uses a whole different process that requires Canon software on the machine to upload the files. Fortunately, the guy with the underwater footage had his laptop with him, with the software, and he just uploaded the files to his machine and I transferred them to mine with a flash drive.

Of course, I still need the firewire connection to upload my own video, which is more important (though less urgent), so I'm very relieved to have it working.

Now, my plan is to import each AVCHD file into an AVCHD project in PRE7 and export it as an AVI file so I can use it in a standard definition PRE7 project along with the downconverted files from my HDV camera. Is that the best way to combine video from AVCHD and HDV cameras in the same project? It's a pretty tedious process, but I can't think of any alternatives.

[Dave McElderry]

As of yet I don't work in HD so I'll let someone else answer your questions. If you don't get the answers you need I'd suggest starting a separate new topic.

[Chuck Engels]

I think it was the final reboot that fixed the problem, after removing the card and then installing it again.

For your project the best thing would be to export the AVCHD footage as HD MPEG rather than AVI.
That will work very well in your HDV project with the HV40 footage.

[Dave McElderry]

I think it was the final reboot that fixed the problem, after removing the card and then installing it again.

Yep, I agree.

[peggig]

I think it was the final reboot that fixed the problem, after removing the card and then installing it again.

That would make sense, except that I had already rebooted twice after reinstalling the firewire card. Once immediately after reinstalling it, then again after changing the driver to the Legacy driver. After that reboot, I expected it to work, but it didn't. I was ready to give up at that point, but my husband suggested plugging in the speakers. After I did that, I rebooted a third time, but the only thing that had changed between that and the previous reboot was plugging in the speakers (which shouldn't require a reboot, but I was desperate). Anyway, you may be correct. It may have been the extra reboot that corrected the problem, but at least it's corrected and I'm very grateful for that!

For your project the best thing would be to export the AVCHD footage as HD MPEG rather than AVI.
That will work very well in your HDV project with the HV40 footage.

Thanks, Chuck. I've already started the project in standard definition but, now that I've upgraded to Win7-64, I might actually be able to do this in high definition without driving myself crazy. If I do, which MPEG format is the least lossy? Should I use H.264?

[Chuck Engels]

There is a preset for MPEG HDV 1080i 30, that will work just fine.
If you are doing the project in Standard Definition then exporting the AVCHD files as AVI will work just fine.

[peggig]

Thanks, Chuck. I haven't decided yet whether to do it in high def or standard def. I've had so much aggravation with editing in high def on my last two full-length video projects that I swore I'd never attempt it again. But, with the 64-bit system, it might be significantly better. I'll probably try a few clips at a time and see if the high-def is manageable.

Thanks again, everybody, for your help!

[George Tyndall]

If I do, which MPEG format is the least lossy? Should I use H.264?

If you don't really need the extra compression of H.264 when burning a Blu-ray disc, Adobe's Classroom in a Book for PRE7 suggests using MPEG2 1920x1080i 30.

Personally, I also share to Personal Computer using that option, however, I also always click on the Advanced button in PRE7 and choose VBR, 2 Pass, Quality 5. This takes longer to save than the default option, but the playback quality on my 52-inch HDTV is breathtaking.

I do use the H.264 option for IPods if I have a client who has one and wants that capability. (The video on iPods is small, but the audio with earphones is amazing.)

[peggig]

Thanks, George! Is that the setting you'd recommend for transcoding AVCHD files to make them compatible with an HDV project? The AVCHD files are natively 1920x1080i, but the HDV files are natively 1440x1080i, so I was thinking it might be better to transcode them using 1440x1080i. What do you think?

I have another question. If I do end up starting this project over in high def, I have a few clips I want to use that were taken a few years ago that wer shot at standard definition. If I want to use them in an HDV project, what's the best way to do that? Can I import standard definition video clips directly into an HDV project, or should I create a standard definition project for them, and export them in high definition to import into the HDV project? (And, if so, should I use the same settings that I use for transcoding the AVCHD files?)