Can't capture DV, HDV video

When you try to capture DV or HDV video in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 or later, the Record button in the Capture panel is dimmed. You cannot start capture. The Capture panel also displays one of these errors:

• "Capture Device Offline."
• "Can't activate recorder. Try resetting camera."

Or when you capture video in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 or later, the capture process unexpectedly stops after a short time or several minutes.

Do the following steps in order. Try to start capture in Adobe Premiere Pro after you complete each step. Steps 1-3 are about hardware setup. Steps 4-8 are about software configuration. If you still cannot start capture after you have completed steps 1-8, then go to the advanced troubleshooting in steps 9-16. If you are able to start capture, but the capture process stops after a short time, then go to steps 17-26.

If you are capturing from a camcorder or VTR, then verify that the device is turned on and in playback mode (called VCR or VTR mode). Verify that the videotape has not been advanced to its end. If you are capturing from an analog-to-digital converter, then verify that both the converter and its analog input source are turned on. Also make sure that they're connected correctly, and are in the correct input/output mode. See the converter's documentation for instructions.

Connect the device directly to an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port on your computer. Do not connect the device to a multi-port hub or to another IEEE 1394 device. If the device can output video over either USB or IEEE 1394, then configure it to output over IEEE 1394. See the device's documentation for instructions.

Note: Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and later do not natively support capture of video over USB or USB 2.0 connections. To capture video from USB-only devices, use Adobe Premiere Elements or a third-party application, or install a third-party capture card.

Note: If you are capturing from a DV-only camcorder, then skip this step and go to step 4. Some video devices can output more than one digital video format. Determine whether your device has a button, a switch, or a menu setting that changes its output format. See the device's documentation for instructions.

Important: If you change your device's output format, then close the Capture panel. Then, disconnect the device from the computer, reconnect the device, and reopen the Capture panel. Settings on some HDV camcorders and VTRs downsample HDV source material to DV resolution during output. If you are capturing HDV video, then disable any device setting that downsamples HDV video.

• Some Sony HDV devices have a menu setting called i.LINK CONV. If this item is set to ON, then the device downsamples HDV video during output. If your device has an i.LINK CONV setting, then set it to OFF.
• Some Canon HDV devices have a menu setting called DV OUTPUT. If this item is set to DV LOCK, then the devices downsample HDV video during output. If your device has a DV OUTPUT setting, then set it to HDV/DV.
• Some other HDV devices have an AUTO option for the output format. AUTO isn't always reliable. If your device has such an option, then select DV or HDV instead of AUTO. If you capture from an analog-to-digital converter that can output video in multiple formats (MPEG-2, H.264, and so on), then select DV as the output format. If your converter cannot output in DV format, then use the converter's bundled software to capture video. Then, import the captured clips into an Adobe Premiere Pro project. If your device is compatible with both the NTSC and PAL standards, then select the correct standard on the device.

Note: Not all devices can process both NTSC and PAL videotapes. For example, if you have a PAL videotape, then do not play it in an NTSC-only device.

The capture format that you choose in Adobe Premiere Pro must match the format that the device is outputting to the computer. For example, if the capture format is set to DV but the device is outputting HDV video, then you can't start capture. When you create a project, the New Project dialog includes a Capture Format pop-up menu, which has two options: DV and HDV. The format that you choose from this menu is the project's initial capture format, but you can change this setting. To identify a project's current capture format and change it if necessary, do the following:

Note: Alternatively, you can change the capture format in the Settings tab of the Capture panel. Click Edit in the Capture Settings section, choose a format from the Capture Format menu, and then click OK. Playback quality can be poor if you add DV clips to an HDV sequence, or if you add HDV clips to a DV sequence. To preserve playback quality, add captured clips to a sequence with a format that matches the format of the video you captured. For details, see Create a sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Help, or Create a sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro Help.

Sometimes, you can't start capture if the device control settings are incorrect. For information on setting up, viewing, or changing the settings for device control, see Set up device control.

If you cannot start capture after you have verified or changed the device control settings, then disable device control. For information on disabling device control, see Disable device control.

Note: When device control is disabled, start playback on the device manually.

Download and install (or reinstall) the current version of QuickTime from the Apple website at www.apple.com/quicktime/download. For assistance with installing QuickTime, see the Apple Support site at http://support.apple.com or contact Apple.

Damaged or incorrect permissions in your user account can prevent Adobe Premiere Pro from writing required registry keys upon the first successful capture. Create a local administrator account and then try to start capture in the new account.

To create a new local administrator account:

• Windows XP: Choose Start > Help And Support and see the article "To add a new user to the computer;" or contact your system administrator.
• Windows Vista or Windows 7: See Create local administrator account | Windows 7, Vista (kb404912).
• Mac OS: See Install or run the Adobe application from within a new user account (Mac OS) (kb404927).

When you have created a new local administrator account, do the following tasks:

If you cannot start capture in the new account, then go to Advanced Troubleshooting. If you can start capture in the new account, then stop the capture after a few seconds, log off, and log on to your original account.

(Mac OS) In the original account, re-create the Adobe Premiere Pro preferences files. Rename the 4.0 or 5.0 folder (for example, to Old 4.0 or Old 5.0) in the /Users/[your user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Premiere Pro folder.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro and try again to start capture. If you still cannot capture in the original account, then migrate to the new account.

If you cannot start capture after you have completed all of the steps above, then do the following advanced troubleshooting steps in order. Try to start capture in Adobe Premiere Pro after you complete each step.

Disconnect all other IEEE 1394 devices from your computer, and then do one or both of the following tasks:

Startup items and services that run in the background sometimes interfere with video capture. (Startup items are programs that start automatically with Windows and services are specialized programs that perform functions to support other programs.) Disable startup items and non-essential services, and close all other open applications, before you open Adobe Premiere Pro. To disable startup items and non-essential services, see one of these TechNotes:

• Disable startup items and services (TechNote kb404984).
• "Restart Windows in a modified mode (Windows 7, Windows Vista)" (TechNote kb404913).

Try to capture video from your device in Apple iMovie. For assistance with setting up capture in iMovie, see the iMovie Help or contact Apple. If you cannot capture in iMovie, then go to Step 11. If you can capture in iMovie, and you have completed all of the steps above, then your installation of Adobe Premiere Pro could be damaged. Use the Adobe Premiere Pro uninstaller, the Creative Suite suite uninstaller, or the Creative Cloud uninstaller in /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers to remove Adobe Premiere Pro. Then reinstall Adobe Premiere Pro and all available updates, and review or repeat Steps 1 through 7 in this document.

DirectShow video capture filters from manufacturers other than Microsoft can interfere with the ability of Adobe Premiere Pro to capture from DV and HDV video devices. To identify and disable third-party capture filters, do the following:

Important: Do not disable the file ksproxy.ax. Adobe Premiere Pro uses the Microsoft capture filter ksproxy.ax to capture video.

Try to capture video with one of these third-party applications, which use the same capture protocols as Adobe Premiere Pro:

• Use LifeFlix to test DV capture (Mac OS).
• Use WinDV to test DV capture (Windows XP).
• Use Windows Movie Maker to test DV capture (Windows 7, Windows 8).
• Use HDVSplit to test HDV capture.

If you cannot capture in these applications, then go to Step 11 and Step 12. If you can capture in these applications, and you have completed all of the steps above, then your installation of Adobe Premiere Pro could be damaged. Use the Add Or Remove Programs Control Panel (Windows XP) or the Programs And Features Control Panel (Windows Vista or Windows 7) to uninstall Adobe Premiere Pro. Then, reinstall Adobe Premiere Pro and all available updates, and review or repeat Steps 1 through 6 of this document.

Disclaimer: This procedure involves editing the Windows registry. Adobe doesn't provide support for editing the registry, which contains critical system and application information. Make sure to back up the registry before editing it. For more information about the registry, see the Windows documentation or contact Microsoft.

To refresh the IEEE 1394 device listings in the Windows XP registry:

If you have completed all of these steps and you still cannot capture in Adobe Premiere Pro, then try to capture on a different computer. If you cannot start capture on a different computer, then your video device could be malfunctioning. Contact the device's manufacturer for support. If you can start capture on another computer, then your computer's IEEE 1394 interface could be malfunctioning. Contact the manufacturer of your computer or the manufacturer of your IEEE 1394 card for support.

If the scratch disk for captured video runs out of free space, then capture stops suddenly.

Digital video requires a large amount of storage space. For example, the storage requirement for DV video is approximately 13 GB per hour.

To see how much space is available on the current scratch disk, look in the Capture Locations section of the Settings pane of the Capture panel.

If the scratch disk doesn't have enough free space to store the full duration of the video you are capturing, then delete files or remove unused program. Or, capture to a drive that has sufficient space.

To change the scratch disk for captured video:

If you are capturing DV or HDV video, then use a hard drive that has a rotational speed of at least 7,200 rpm. Use an internal hard drive if possible. If you must use an external hard drive, then use an IEEE 1394 (FireWire) or USB 2.0 external drive. Also, use high-quality cables to connect the drive directly to an IEEE 1394 or USB 2.0 port on your computer. Do not connect the drive to a multi-port hub or to another drive.

If you are capturing HD or uncompressed SD video, then use a striped disk array (RAID 0).

To change the scratch disk for captured video, see Solution 17.

If the scratch disk for captured video is formatted in the FAT32 file system, then the capture process can stop suddenly, even if the drive has available space. The capture stops because FAT32 limits file sizes to a maximum of 4 GB (approximately 18 minutes of DV video).

To determine the format of a hard drive:

If the current scratch disk for captured video is a FAT32 drive, then choose an NTFS-formatted drive instead. To change the scratch disk for captured video, see Solution 1.

Capture can stop unexpectedly if the hard drive is damaged or fragmented. Repair and defragment the scratch disk for captured video. For instructions, see one of these TechNotes:

•     Repair and defragment hard disks (Windows XP) (TechNote kb404981)
•     Repair and defragment hard disks (Windows Vista) (TechNote kb405610)
•     Defragment the hard disk and check for errors (Mac OS X) (TechNote kb404929)

Capture from a camcorder can stop suddenly if the camcorder is drawing power only from its battery. Connect the camcorder to an AC power source (wall socket) before you start capturing.

If other applications are running, then another application's use of the hard drive or of other system resources can cause capture to stop suddenly. Quit all other open applications before you start capture, and do not open other applications until you have finished capturing your video.

If anti-virus or other security software is installed on your computer, then temporarily disable it before you start capture. When you have finished capturing, re-enable the anti-virus or other security software. For instructions, see the software's documentation.

Capture can stop suddenly because of the start of an automatic system event, such as a screen saver.

If you use a screen saver or have configured other automatic system events, then temporarily disable them before you start capture. (Automatic system events include events related to power-saving settings or software updates.)

Startup items and services that run in the background can cause capture to stop suddenly. (Startup items are programs that start automatically with Windows and services are specialized programs that perform functions to support other programs.)  Disable startup items and non-essential services before you start capture.

To disable startup items and non-essential services, see one of these TechNotes:

•    Disable startup items and services (Windows XP) (TechNote kb404984)
•    Restart Windows in a modified mode (Windows Vista) (TechNote kb404913)

Capture can stop suddenly if the videotape from which you are capturing is damaged. To identify a damaged segment, preview the videotape on a camcorder's LCDn screen or on a monitor connected to a VCR/VTR. Or, try dubbing (copying) the videotape.

Capture can also stop suddenly at the boundary between different formats on the same videotape. (For example, capture can stop if both DV and HDV video are recorded on the same tape). If your tape holds mixed formats, then start a new capture session for each format.

Video frames that are not saved to disk during the capture process are called dropped frames. The Abort Capture On Dropped Frames option determines whether dropped frames cause the application to stop capturing.

By default, Abort Capture On Dropped Frames is not enabled. If it has been enabled, then you can disable it. If you have been experiencing dropped frames during capture, then capturing with this option disabled prevents the dropped frames from stopping capture. However, the quality of your captured clips can be inferior because of the dropped frames. Before you use this solution, complete the other solutions in this document to prevent dropped frames.

To disable the Abort Capture On Dropped Frames option: