Can't see FireWire 800 port

There is some evidence (LethalWolfe does know it better), that FW800 and modern Mac OS X versions do not play well with DV camcorder/players connected via a 4-pin to 9-pin cable.

I got it to work via daisy chaining my MBP via FW 800 to a FW 800 HDD and connecting the DV camera via FW to the HDD, but even that did not work every time.

You could get a 4-pin to 6-pin cable via MonoPrice for not much money.

I have a 4-pin to 9-pin (FW400->FW800) cable that I use to capture video on my Mac Pro, so I know it works on OSX 10.6.8. It worked flawlessly, every time.

I use Adobe Premiere to capture, though. I can't tell you anything about iMovie or Vegas.

Perhaps you can ensure/check that the capture program is set properly.

I've yet to make a professional Sony DV Cam play well with any Mac..My personal cam is fine though

iTundra said:

Thanks. I've checked everything that I can think of and nothing shows up in either iMovie or Vegas (under Win7) except the iSight camera.

Doubly frustrating: I borrowed a 4pin > 6pin from a friend early this morning based on posts here and his experience having problems with Apple's 800, only to find out that my mac pro has ZERO 400 ports, only 9pin 800 ports. Umph.

Click to expand...

What model is the Sony camera, and what MacOS & iMovie version are you using?

Also, what do you see (if anything) in the "Firewire" section of "System Profiler" ?

Do you have any other Firewire devices attached?

Try using a different port - MacPros should have Firewire ports both front and rear.

Some Sony tech docs say to shut down the Mac, THEN connect the camera, power on the camera and then power on the Mac. Odd, yes, considering Firewire is supposed to be hot-pluggable.

EDIT: Some of the tips here may also help - especially the settings on the camera (toggling them to force a change), the Nikon Transfer app, and Adobe bridge issues.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3867811?start=0&tstart=0

iTundra said:

Thanks. I've checked everything that I can think of and nothing shows up in either iMovie or Vegas (under Win7) except the iSight camera.

Doubly frustrating: I borrowed a 4pin > 6pin from a friend early this morning based on posts here and his experience having problems with Apple's 800, only to find out that my mac pro has ZERO 400 ports, only 9pin 800 ports. Umph.

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the reason I bought that 4-9 pin cable in the first place.

Honestly, it should just work in any FW800 port. I've only used mine in the front ports, and no rebooting or anything. I hope you get it sorted out. That would drive me insane.