How can I troubleshoot my camcorder capture problems?

1.    Before you blame the software, make sure your operating system and its components are optimized and up to date. The computer regimen listed in our Appendix, and, in particular, ensuring that your operating system, its firmware and drivers are up to date, is fundamental maintenance!

Remember, you’re using a very intensive program on an operating system that’s constantly changing, updating and evolving. Like a race car driver who knows that even a few pounds of pressure in one tire can mean the difference between a stable ride and one fraught with problems, you should always make sure your computer’s operating system is in perfect working order.

And always make sure you have the latest version of Quicktime and the newest RealTek drivers on your system! They may not seem like obvious solutions to your problems, but more times than not, a simple update makes all the difference.

2.  If your operating system isn’t even registering your camcorder as connected, you’re dealing with a more fundamental problem than a Premiere Elements issue.

Check your connections. Make sure your camcorder is set up right for capture (i.e., is in VTR/play mode). Possibly even check the camcorder on another computer to see whether it’s the computer, the FireWire cable or even your particular camcorder that’s failing.

3.    Make sure you’re using a FireWire/IEEE-1394/iLink connection for capture. Some miniDV camcorders also offer a USB connection – but, most of the time, they won’t work with Premiere Elements. Trust us on this. You want a FireWire connection if it is at all possible.

4.    If all connections are working and Windows recognizes your camcorder but Premiere Elements doesn’t, note the auto-launch window that Windows opens when you plug your camcorder into your computer.

What software does it offer to launch to capture your video? Some software (such as Nero) is less willing to share capture devices with any other software. And sometimes that means, unfortunately, capture directly into Premiere Elements may simply not be possible – at least not without way more work than it’s worth. In that case, you may want to consider our third-party solutions below.

5.    If all seems to be in order and Premiere Elements still isn’t recognizing your camcorder, click on the >> button on the upper right corner of your Capture panel. (If this button doesn’t show, go to Premiere Elements Window drop-down menu and select Show Docking Headers.)

Select the Device Control option and, from the panel that opens, click on the Options button.

This button will open another panel in which you can set the program to the exact brand and model of camcorder or DV bridge you’re connected to. (There are Standard settings also, in the event your camcorder model isn’t listed.)

In all honesty, changing these settings rarely revives a dead camcorder connection. However, it can “refine” a connection in which the camcorder is recognized but capture doesn’t seem to be going quite right.

Finally, if none of these solutions works, you can use a third-party capture solution.

A favorite capture software utility for miniDV capture is WinDV. This free and fully-loaded capture utility will often work even when nothing else seems to (assuming Windows sees the camcorder connection).

Like Premiere Elements itself, WinDV captures miniDV video in small DV-AVI clips which are perfectly compatible with Premiere Elements and other editors.

Other options include the low-cost Scenalyzer and the absolutely free Windows MovieMaker (included with your Windows operating system). Both will capture your miniDV files in the DV-AVI format, which you can then import into your Premiere Elements project.

For high-definition video, HDVSplit is, like WinDV, free and yet very stable and nicely featured.