RF-20 download/ file errors

[KaiM]

Hi all,
Let me first warn you that I am not super technosavvy. I can follow instructions -- even the ones that say easy breezy assembly with a pretty good level of success. But this bloody camcorder has me tied up in knots!

As an engagement/wedding gift I purchased my husband a Canon Vixia R20 with the dual card slots and 8 GB internal memory. We got it days before the birth of our son and have been absolutely pleased with the quality and ease of use...

...until it came to trying to put our movies on our computer and server when the memory filled up.

I have tried installing the software- first being the transfer utility which allowed me to attempt to transfer video from the external cards and onto my hard drive. I then went to use the video browser so that I could view and or edit my movies. It prompted me to remove the transfer software, which I did , and when I did that the files were gone from my computer. So again I install the transfer software and every attempt to transfer the videos gives me an error through the transfer utility that it could not find the location and to reset.

I got frustrated and have not used the camera or tried again to transfer my files in a few weeks. I came back to it today and now I get a message on the lcd screen that says I have to plug in the external power supply (it was) and used the usb cable (hooked up to computer and camera) and that it could not write anything and to reset the camcorder.

1. If I reset the camcorder will I lose the video on the internal card? The internal memory has the video of our sons birth and I really do not want to lose it !

2. the one video that did transfer the first time I tried this would not play in windows. How do I convert .mts into something I can edit and it there a software that would allow me to do that?

3. is there any way to set the camcorder to use a format other than mts?

I'm frustrated. This is a 300+ dollar camera that has become a very expensive paper weight and not something we can use to record our growing family. We are getting married and leaving for our honeymoon in less then a month and would really like to be able to use our camera!

Thanks in advance!

Kai

[1]

Fear not, it will work somehow!


First off, I find it hard to believe you need some transfer software.
Can't you just use a USB card reader and then simply COPY the files to your computer?
You should also be able to use a USB cable fro the camera to the computer to transfer the files that are on the internal memory.

Maybe it's also best to buy a few SD cards first, just to make sure you have spares, and don't overwrite any of the ones you already have movies on.
Make sure on the ones you have recorded movies on, you flick the little tab on the card to PROTECT to avoid accidental overwriting!

Here's a card reader:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Moultrie-U...eader/14972138


Here's a simple free software to transfer files (COPY them first, not move them, as move will delete the files on the cards):
http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm


Here's a free trial download of video editing software:
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/.../moviestudiope
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiope

[1]

Also, don't reset the camera just yet. There's no need to do that.

[KaiM]

I did try that. The only files I can copy via usb are the still photos taken, everything else is just an empty folder.

My laptop has a card reader, I just havnt tried that yet because my computer still wont recognize the mts format.

The video in the internal is what is most important to be honest because it is of our sons first days.

[Bif]

Your instruction manual will have fairly simple instructions on how to copy files from the internal memory to a blank SDHC card in one of the card slots. Then remove the card from the camera (after turning the camera off), insert the card into a reader slot on your laptop and copy from there to your hard drive.

Assuming your laptop is a PC, download a free media player called VLC (from VideoLanCorporation - www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html). This VLC player will play MTS files on most PCs but won't edit or join them together. For that you'll need something like what "1" suggested.

You usually do not need to transfer all of the support files your camcorder created, just the MTS files found in a subfolder on the card named STREAM.

Sometimes if your PC has enough processor "horsepower" Windows Media Player can play your MTS files for you.

Bruce Foreman

[cgbier]

Windows should recognize your camera as mass storage device when you connect it via USB. Did you check the manual how to do that? Once you have your files on the desktop, you can use VLC to at least play them.
From here on, someone else should jump in... Mac user here with no clue of Windows software.

[cgbier]

Dang, Bruce was faster ...

[Fred Dwyer]

Just to be clear: Can you play the video on the camcorder itself? If "yes" we can all be sure the video is safe and unharmed. Somehow I'd like to know that before worrying about how to get it into your computer.

[Fred Dwyer]

Another thought. Is the camera switched to photo mode? Also, what "reset" are we talking about? In the menu structure you will find a reset-all which simply resets all camera functions to the factory defaults. No harm in doing that.

[Fred Dwyer]

Page 18 of your user manual identifies a reset button (#1) The page it references says that by removing your camcorder's power source and then pressing the reset button, all factory defaults will be restored. Sounds like a winner to me since that's what the error message is telling you to do.

[Fred Dwyer]

Guess the OP either gave up, or fixed the problem. Too bad she didn't think to let us know. We could have helped her. Maybe you who responded on the same day she posted did help her. Wonder where your "thanks" is.