I want to capture video from a Sony camcorder using USB cable (camera model sony 990x, TRV238e/TRV438E) using USB cable. I had been trying a lot of suggessions given on the net but couldnt get things done. Following are the things I did:

(1) Loaded modules with /sbin/modprobe raw1394
/sbin/modprobe dv1394

(also checked by loading ieee1394)

(2) made an /dev entry with mknod /dev/raw1394 c 171 0
mknod /dev/video1394 c 172 0

(3) Started dvgrab, but of no avail it is giving the following error

Error: No camera found.

I rebooted also my system while keeping my camera switched on so that the system recognizes it while booting. Could someone shed a light on it.

Thanks
A

For those steps to work, you need to use IEEE-1394 ports. Try loading up sd_mod and usb-storage or load up one of the USB video modules.

Electro,

I am not too literate on this front. So could you give me the names of the modules you mentioned (in specific) to be loaded? My system is FC4 system. Also is there a difference in ieee1394 port and an usb port?

Thanks

There is a huge difference between IEEE-1394 (aka i.link or firewire) and USB. IEEE-1394 is recommended to download the video from the camcorder because it has a much higher effective data throughput. USB lacks high data throughput during long periods of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire

If your camcorder has an IEEE-1394 port, you will get better results with it. Sorry, I have not done this yet in Linux, but what I read you should load up raw1374 instead of dv1394 and maybe loading video1394 will create the dv video device nodes. You may want to install kino to make downloading from the camcorder easier.

Agree with Electro on the IEEE-1394, I just captured my first video from a Sony TRV-110 using 1394 yesterday.

Your videocam does have a 1394 port so I would suggest taking advantage of that.

I don't find IEEE-1394 (although I managed to get a cable) socket in my computer. What should I do . Is there any way to use USB cable for video transfer?

Thanks

In that case, you would need to purchase and install a video capture card that supports IEEE-1394/Firewire/iLink. There are several vendors that sell this card starting at US$20. Better check the HCL first before buying.