Panasonic DV-GS60 Camcorder Please Help!!!!

[jennilewry]

Hi there, I recently bought a Panasonic NV-GS60 and wish I hadn't! I chose this one because it specified it had a USB port as well as DV so I stupidly assumed it would have a lead, drivers and software. No leads, no CD nothing! It's from Argos (excluded from 16 day money back guarantee) so I can't take it back!

I had a USB lead from my old Digital 8 Sony but the softwear would not recognise the Camcorder. My PC doesn't have a 1394 DV port thingy so I bought a PC card and Firewire lead and Ulead softwear and still it doesn't recognise the camcorder!

All I want to do is be able to upload my video to the PC and burn onto DVD - it's not much to ask lol! I can't find any Panasonic drivers for either the USB or Firewire anywhere!

Would I be better off cutting my loses and selling the camcorder? Can anyone recommend a Mini DV for around £160 that does allow me to transfer to the PC?

Or would one of these do the job? DAZZLE DIGITAL VIDEO CREATOR 90 USB review cheap prices DAZZLE VIDEO CREATOR 90 USB best buy discount online uk shop

Thanks in advance!

Jenni

[Alan Mills]

It's a miniDV camcorder right? IF you connect through USB (althought you shouldn't need to) then I would have expected a disk for drivers to be included so it will work. However, for best results you should transfer through firewire anyways so no greate loss really.

So you now have a firewire port on your PC and have connected the camcorder to PC through it. Turn the camcorder on and make sure it;s in playback mode and not record mode. Assuming you have a Windows (XP?) PC then when the camcorder gets turned on Windows should 'ping' its acknowledgement. At that point you rcapture s/w shoul dbe abel to take control of the camera and capture the footage on the tape.

So unless you've done something silly like had the camera in record mode then it sound like you've done everything right.

I'm not familiar with Ulead s/w. I believe window movie maker can capture from it so give that a try.

[Alan Mills]

This page NV-GS60 30x Zoom Mini DV Camcorder [NV-GS60] - Panasonic Australia does seem to list drivers but you need the right one depending on colour????

Also, that page does talk about the MPEG2 engine of the camera. Strange for a miniDV camcorder. There's also a PDF doc warning of dangers of connecting things in the wrong order so check that out as well as the 'brochure' which may offer some insights.

[jennilewry]

Hi, thank for your reply! Yes I did all that. The software didn't automatically (Vista Home Premium btw) open. So I opened it and it did sort of recognise the camcorder and when I clicked 'capture' it started playing on the camcorder but nothing on screen. Then I kept getting error messages saying Video Studio had to close - I assumed it was a problem with the camcorder/lead but maybe it's the software?

This is the Card and Software I purcahsed (I was looking for cheap as possible ):

Amazon.co.uk: 4 Port PCI Firewire DV iLink Sony IEEE1394 Card with Cable and Ulead Videostudio Software Kit: Electronics & Photo

I'll try Windows Movie maker (if I have it on the PC - it's new so I haven't really had chance to look)!

Thanks!

[jennilewry]

This page NV-GS60 30x Zoom Mini DV Camcorder [NV-GS60] - Panasonic Australia does seem to list drivers but you need the right one depending on colour????

Also, that page does talk about the MPEG2 engine of the camera. Strange for a miniDV camcorder. There's also a PDF doc warning of dangers of connecting things in the wrong order so check that out as well as the 'brochure' which may offer some insights.

Thanks! It never occured to me that it would matter what order I connected things lol! Everything still seems to be working thankfully - I'll try in the specified order next!

Also realised from that site that it could be a compatability problem with Vista so if it still doesn't work I'll try on my Dad's PC with XP.

Thanks for your help!

[Alan Mills]

That card would be fine. In fact we already know it is because you got the 'ping' of recognition from Windows so we know for a fact that the camcorder is 'talking' to the PC.

I'm now wondering if the s/w you are using is Windows VISTA compatible. What version of Ulead Video Studio are you running? I have heard much talk of bugs in certain versions.

[jennilewry]

That card would be fine. In fact we already know it is because you got the 'ping' of recognition from Windows so we know for a fact that the camcorder is 'talking' to the PC.

I'm now wondering if the s/w you are using is Windows VISTA compatible. What version of Ulead Video Studio are you running? I have heard much talk of bugs in certain versions.

It's Version 8 and TBH looks like a dodgy copy! It does only say XP compatable so that could very well be an issue too. I swear having Vista is more trouble than it's worth as I had to search for drivers for most of my hardware!

[Alan Mills]

It's Version 8 and TBH looks like a dodgy copy! It does only say XP compatable so that could very well be an issue too. I swear having Vista is more trouble than it's worth as I had to search for drivers for most of my hardware!

I had a dig around on the ulead site (you can tell it's a slow day for me can;t you?) and found this

Multimedia Software Developer: Ulead Systems - Spotlight - Ulead is ready for Windows Vista™. Are you?

It does seem to me that they only have a VISTA patch for v10 given that there's no such patch listed for any older versions.

I did read something (lost link now sorry) that implied you might get better results using the compatibility mode (for older progs) in VISTA. Hope that means more to you than it does me.

All told though, it does seem like s/w problem and an upgrade may be in order. this si the troubel with adopting a new OS when it;s so new. I remember having compatibility issues when XP was brand new.

[jennilewry]

I had a dig around on the ulead site (you can tell it's a slow day for me can;t you?) and found this

Multimedia Software Developer: Ulead Systems - Spotlight - Ulead is ready for Windows Vista™. Are you?

It does seem to me that they only have a VISTA patch for v10 given that there's no such patch listed for any older versions.

I did read something (lost link now sorry) that implied you might get better results using the compatibility mode (for older progs) in VISTA. Hope that means more to you than it does me.

All told though, it does seem like s/w problem and an upgrade may be in order. this si the troubel with adopting a new OS when it;s so new. I remember having compatibility issues when XP was brand new.

Yes I realise now jumping into Vista so early was probably a mistake - not overly impressed atm tbh! Looking forward to millions of updates lol! Can't try anything until my youngest wakes (as his cot is by the pc - on laptop atm) so I'll let you know how I get on!

[Galoot]

I have had nearly the same problem with my Panasonic PV-GS31. It worked fine with my old PC, with Windows XP sp2. I just plugged it into the USB port, and was able to download from the camera to Windows Movie Maker. But, it was only a Pentium II 400mhz, and I just upgraded with a new Dell w/ AMD 64 duo, which came with MS Vista.

Now, however, the new computer won't recognize my camera, even though I get a 'ding' when I plug it in. The Vista version of Movie Maker says it couldn't find any DV camera.

I next downloaded the USB drivers from Panasonic's website:
Panasonic Product Support - Camcorder Downloads

and after installing them (which turned out also to be a pain in Vista), my camcorder was still not recognized.

I don't have a firewire card for this new computer, and from what you say, that probably wouldn't help anyway.

I've emailed Panasonic's customer support, but no response yet. I'll have to find the time to call them, but I doubt they have a solution. But, if you learn how to correct this, please share it.

thanks