Top 20 Sony Handycam DCR-TRV33 Mini DV Digital Camcorder Questions & Answers

Take it for a service - 'No user serviceable parts within' applies here.

Use the IEEE1394 Firewire interface on your PC if you have one. If your PC does not have a IEEE1394 port then you may be able to add one via an internal add-on card or a PCMCIA card if it is a laptop. With Windows 7, you can use Windows Moviemaker to capture the video. Don't bother with USB capture as this will be low quality and too slow. Moviemaker is not great for editing so you should investigate alternatives. Captured video will take about 4GB of hard disk space for 20 minutes of video. If you are using a FAT32 file system then this is the maximum file size limit. You should therefore use NTFS to capture large video files.

Can you please explain batter

The USB streaming driver for the Camcorder is not available for Windows 7 OS from Sony at this point. Hence it is not possible to transfer videos using USB interface. You may use i.LINK or A/V interface to transfer videos from the Camcorder to the Computer which is running on Windows 7 Operating System.

Please follow the steps to transfer video to a computer using an i.LINK connection (IEEE 1394).

IMPORTANT: Video capture software and a compatible video capture card must be installed on the computer. Depending on the computer manufacturer, various video capture cards and software (Adobe Premiere, Roxio Video Wave, Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, etc.) may be available or already installed on your computer. If necessary, contact the manufacturer of your computer for further information.

NOTE: Many Sony VAIO computers are bundled with Sony DVgate Motion or DVgate Plus software for video capturing. Some VAIO computers also include Click To DVD software that will allow video capture to the computer hard drive or directly to a DVD.

1. Connect an i.LINK cable (also known as IEEE 1394) to the i.LINK port on the digital camcorder.

i.LINK Cable.

i.LINK port.

1. Connect the other end of the i.LINK cable to the computer.

NOTE: The computer i.LINK ports and capture cards may have either 4-pin or 6-pin connections. Sony digital camcorders use i.LINK ports with 4 pins. If your computer only has a 6-pin i.LINK port, then it will be necessary to use a 4-pin to 6-pin i.LINK cable.

1. Turn on the digital camcorder by moving the POWER switch to the VTR position.
2. Cue the camcorder tape to the beginning of the video footage.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Start the video capture software on the computer.
5. Begin playing the recorded video in the camcorder.
6. Begin importing the video with the capture software.

It should now be possible to copy the video using the video capture software if the computer hardware and software are configured correctly.

Thanks for understanding. Please let me know if you require any further assistance.

The 32:10 error code indicates a problem in the cameras tape transport system. This can be caused by several problems including the transmission gear in the tape mechanism not engaging properly, a defective clutch in the take-up spool or a faulty rotary mode switch. This will require disassembling the camera to repair and can be done fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .m.

This is usually caused by a defective CCD image sensor and will require disassembling the camera to repair. The lens assembly will need to be removed, the old CCD de-soldered from the circuit board and a new one installed in its place. This can usually be done fairly inexpensively. However, it's not really a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

You may have to close the holding mechanism of where tape go in NOT the actual case.

This is usually caused by an oxidized, misaligned or defective Audio/Video drum. You can try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be serviced by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair cost low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

This can be caused by several problems including the transmission gear in the tape mechanism not engaging properly or a defective clutch in the take-up spool and can usually be repaired fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair costs low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

If this response has been of any help to you, please be sure and give a positive vote for me on FixYa.com .

Software and drivers are available for supported OS versions here: http://esupport.sony.com/perl/swu-list.pl?mdl=DCRTRV33 . Use the drop-down menu to choose your OS for the files. For XP through Windows 7, the drivers are part of the OS. However the streaming feature isn't supported.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Hi Stephanie - According to Sony the largest memory stick you can use in your camera is 32 GB with the limitation that a single video clip cannot exceed four GB in size.

You can look at all the info at the Sony website HERE.

Regards and thanks for using Fix Ya.

Mikeywaf

Your best place to start your search for these drivers is Sony's website where you can specify the operatering system and define the necessary drivers.
After doing a quick search on the site I found that the necessary drivers for most Windows 7 operating systems should be included with the OS(Operating System). In other words you should be able to plug the device in the OS should read and instantly installed the necessary components.
Please see the below link: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/support-info.pl?info_id=544&mdl=DCRTRV33

Maybe, It doesn't work because the driver you installed. It is for other versions of operating system. I am also using windows 7 like you.Dont worry, You can still use your installer/driver from other versions of operating systems. Before you installing any program/driver in a windows 7 Operating System Computer, Use "troubleshoot compatibility". Right Click the Icon of your program installer first, then choose "troubleshoot compatiblity". This will allow you to choose on what type operating system your program will run. Just reply back if it still doesn't work.:D

If your mac has an AV input card then likely your FCP should already be configured to talk to it. You need to look for the input selection choice drop down and change it to line in (AV in). However if your Mac doesnt already have a capture/tuner card with inputs then you wouldnt have any thing to connect the cables to.

Hello, please get it here :
www.sony.com/
www.brothersoft.com/.../sony-handycam-software.html
www.userdrivers.com > Camcorder
J__

Batteries have a service life and it may have simply reached it's use by limit.
Try a new battery.

Hi,
First, Please confirm that if LCD is blank then can you see the images in view finder ? If not then the CCD IMAGER is faulty and if LCD is blank and you can see the image in view finder then then a Flexible board which connect the LCD with the main unit is broken, Please replace these parts according to the symptom. Moreover, for your ease pics are shown below of both parts with part number.

First pic is for CCD IMAGER
second pic is for flexible board.
Thanks

Since you are using a USB cable to connect the Camcorder to the Computer, it is required to install the USB Driver and the supplied Software to transfer the videos from the Camcorder to the Computer.

The required USB Driver and the ImageMixer Software have to installed from the supplied Software CD.

The detailed information to install the USB Driver and the ImagerMixer Software from the supplied CD is mentioned on the page # 153 to 157.

Click on the link below to view the instructions to transfer the videos from the Camcorder to the Computer using the USB cable.

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/documentLink.do?externalId=C222820

You can also transfer the videos to the Computer using an i.LINK cable.
The i.LINK cable is better than the USB as the former transfers the videos digitally and the latter in analog form. Hence, the video quality is good for the videos transferred using i.LINK.
You will not need any supplied Software to do this.
You need only the i.LINK cable and the video capture Software like Windows Movie Maker(Pre-installed) in Windows Xp Computer.

Click on the link below to view the instructions to transfer the videos using an i.LINK cable.
http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/documentLink.do?externalId=C111893

Hi, kindly get it here :
www.sony.com/
www.brothersoft.com/.../sony-handycam-software.html
www.userdrivers.com > Camcorder
Regards, Jay__GT