ADVC55 / red LED / Premiere not capturing

[mysteryguest]

Hello - I used to have a functioning ADVC55, although it is somewhat temperamental depending on settings. At the moment I can't seem to get it working. Here are the stats:

Model: ADVC55
Switches: 1 and 3 switched to on
Connections: VHS > ADVC55 > Firewire / tried both motherboard and front card
Firewire cable: tried a few differet ones / combinations
LED Light on ADVC55: Red
Software: Premiere XP Pro / mode Capture / DV Device control OFF
ADVC55 power - mains electricity
Cables: VHS > ADVC55 - Svideo, 2x audio phono

Just looking to capture sound from a VHS cassette that has a black picture

Problem: Timecode not moving / sometimes moves / sometimes freaky numbers. Press record, looks like it is capturing, but captures null frames, and thus no file.

Symptoms: Can't see a picture in the preview window with other VHS cassettes nor sound.

Other DV devices capture ok using firewire.

Any clues?

[GrassValley_BH]

Have you tried turning on Device Control?

The ADVCs aren't like other media converters. The ADVCs really "look and act" like cameras.

Thus, an ADVC usually won't start free-running timecode until it receives a DV Play command. In some cases it will if a video input signal is present when it starts up, but for predictable results, turn device control on.