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Help with DV deck

bug_girl

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Nov 30, 2003
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So...I got a grant to get a shiny new Mac Pro with a terrabyte, Final Cut Pro, and a cool camera.

I got a miniDV deck to help with editing, so we didn't put too much wear and tear on the camera. BUT.

I can't for the life of me find a cable that connects the Mac to the DV deck.
(Sony HVR-M15U).

The deck wants an i.LINK cable (IEEE1394). (4 pin - 4pin) I checked the local computer dude, and he told me Firewire 800 was the same. Not!

I can't seem to find an i.LINK anywhere but online, and I have, for the first time, been disappointed in Apple support. (I owned a 512K mac, so i'm a long time customer!)

They don't seem to know if this $50 cable will solve my problem. I suspect not.

Help?
Help?
 
Does the Mac Pro have a 4 pin connector or a 6? I've used 6 pin to 4 pin cables with an old Sony camcorder in the past.
Whatever you do don't pay $50 for a cable. You can get one for $5.00 or less from places like Newegg or Buy.com. Even if you pay for fast shipping you will come out ahead.
I probably have a spare I could send you if you are in the U.S. I'll have to check when I get home to be sure. I can even test it on my Macbook Pro to make sure it works. If you are interested then P.M. me your address.
 
I did finally find the specs on my mystery port--it's optical digital audio TOSLINK (optical fiber, not pins). So, now I'm really not optimistic I can get this working.

Firewire 400 is sixpin. Dang, hate to not use the 800 when I have it, but it's 9 pin!

Mostly it's frustrating to not be able to have the ports with me so I can try to connect things.
"Does that fit? Nope. How about this?"

You have given me the idea for a 6/4 mixup, though. I wonder.....
 
All I could find on Sony's site was the HVR-M15AU but it looks to be almost the same unit. From the brochure it uses a standard 6-pin firewire 400 cable and that carries the audio as well as video signal so I don't see a need for the optical audio. It's not as fast as the firewire 800 but it should work.
 
The problem is, the DV unit I have has no Firewire port. Just the special i.LINK port.
But, hopefully, I can get that to talk to Firewire--there has to be a way!

Thanks so much for your help--wading around the Sony Website is well above and beyond the call of duty :medalofho
 
Are you sure becauseall the Sony kit I've seen uses the 4-pin S400 firewire. From (spit) wikipedia "Sony's implementation of the system, known as "i.LINK" used a smaller connector with only the four signal circuits, omitting the two circuits which provide power to the device in favor of a separate power connector. This style was later added into the 1394a amendment.[2] This port is sometimes labeled "S100" or "S400" to indicate speed in Mbit/s."
 
i.Link is Sony's proprietary name for the IEEE 1394 4-pin connector. Apple calls the same FireWire 400. The MacBook Pro has the faster, 6-pin(?) FireWire 800 connector, which is downwards compatible with the FireWire-400/i.Link. There are simple, dumb, cable adapters, such as available from Monoprice for really little money.
 
You can get firewire cables with 4pin at one end and 6 at the other...
 
Just found one! Although they seemed to think that there was a difference between a 4pin to 6pin, as opposed to a 6 pin to 4 pin.

It doesn't seem like it would make any difference to me--info is flowing in both directions.
 
bug_girl said:
Just found one! Although they seemed to think that there was a difference between a 4pin to 6pin, as opposed to a 6 pin to 4 pin.

It doesn't seem like it would make any difference to me--info is flowing in both directions.
Click to expand...
Indeed there's no difference (the Monoprice site I linked does not distinguish between 4-to-6 and 6-to-4), which is part of the awesomeness of FireWire.
 
And I now have my cord, and information is indeed flowing.
Yay!

Thanks everyone!
 
Stupid "standard" with three names. I really like the way it works, though - except for the fact that an FW400 plug is mechanically much more prone to falling out with the slightest touch of the computer, cable or plug than, say, USB. Perfect way to lose data on your external HD.

But do let us know about the video editing! That's the fun part, once the technical stuff is sorted.
 
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