Ulead MovieMaker 3

Now maybe I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but, I've read the directions thoroughly and I think I'm doing everything right... but obviously I'm missing something.

I have WinXP Home.

I have a Sony Hi-8 Camcorder connected to a ADS DVD Xpress ("A/V out" on camera to "composite video in" on box). The Xpress is then hooked to my PC via the USB 2 port.

After hooking up and turning on everything, I've checked the DM in Windows and all is well.

However, when I go to the "Capture" screen to run the video I get the message "No capture driver available in the system". I've tried going to "Advance Settings" to change the "capture plug in settings" and "device controllers", all to no avail. Still get the same "No capture driver" message.

Tried their web site but can't seem to find anything.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? It's no doubt something simple but I'll b damned if I can figure it out.

I don't know for sure but I would check the documentation for the xPress. I've only done direct capture over firewire, but that's very simple. It wouldn't surprise me if the DVD software is looking for a firewire connection and doesn't recognize the capture hardware.

The first thing to do is look for driver and software updates.

Ok, if it's looking for a Firewire connection, why does it say USB in the book and come with a USB cord?

Try plugging the camera in, turning it on and rebooting the computer to see if it recognizes the new hardware device.

If not then have you tried the hardware wizard to see if you can manually force it to be recognized?

OK, does the computer have to recognise both the DVD Xpress "and" the camera?

DM already recognises Xpress and says all is well. The camera is plugged into Xpress via RCA cable.

I tried running Capture Wizard as well. The green "capture" light comes on but I get nothing on the "preview" screen.

Sorry, that was my mistake. The PC only has to recognize DVDxpress. The camera is beyond the PCs ability to see.

Every bit of software from Ulead I've ever tried has been derivative at best and usually buggier than a wisconsin wetland in July.

Are you sure this software is called "MovieMaker"? I can't even find a mention of it on ulead.com and no accurate hits on google. Does the software come with a list of compatible capture devices?

The software is called "MovieFactory" and the only thing that Adstech dvd xpress unit is good for is copying VHS to DVD. It's not going to work with your HI8 camera. Don't you have a direct camera to usb port connection?
You could try using the "capwiz" portion of the supplied software but I think your going to end up taking it back, unless it was given to you.
The unit can't see the camera hence the "No capture driver available in the system" message. It would be listed in the drop-down menu automatically if it could. It's a very limited piece of hardware