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| Should the reader wish to examine the
memory contents of a Sony camcorder, the utility RM95DUMP.EXE
will be required. This utility, together with RM95EMUL.EXE
(a Sony RM95 emulator) may be downloaded from the site
address specified on the links page. Both these files,
together with various supporting files, are compressed
into RM95.ZIP which must be downloaded and subsequently
unzipped by using Winzip or an equivalent unpacking
program. A suitable cable (adapter) will also be required
in order to connect the camcorder to the parallel port on
the computer. A link to a design for such a cable is also
given, but the cable supplied by Smart DV with their PC
based enabling device will also work. If RM95DUMP.EXE
refuses to work, it may be that the interrupt controlling
the USB facility on the computer is interfering with the
operation of the dump routine. Try disabling the USB
support in the BIOS, then rebooting the computer. After
the required dumps have been made, the USB support will
have to be re-enabled in BIOS for USB devices to work. Note that RM95DUMP.EXE works in DOS, and although it can be invoked from Windows it will run in a DOS window. Windows is not required to run RM95DUMP.EXE - it should run quite satisfactorily on an old computer which is DOS based only. The syntax is RM95DUMP.EXE >CAMFILE.TXT where CAMFILE.TXT is the name of the file into which the results will be saved. CAMFILE.TXT can be replaced by the name of the model of camcorder, for example TRV120.TXT, but bearing in mind that this is a DOS based utility it would be as well to keep the first part of the file name ie before the ".TXT" to 8 characters or less. For older (pre Windows 95) systems this is essential. Of course if two files are to be generated from the same camcorder, one for the inputs disabled and the other for the inputs enabled, each file will have to have a different name. Perhaps the file name for a disabled TRV120 camcorder might be TRV120.TXT, and for the same camcorder with the inputs enabled TRV120IN.TXT. This will facilitate comparison of the files using the routine mentioned below. The DOS-based emulator RM95EMUL.EXE is rather rudimentary and can be used in a DOS window on a Windows machine or on a DOS only machine. There is an alternative called DV-in Lite 1.7 which will require Windows 95 or later and can also be downloaded from the appropriate link. For easy comparison of 2 memory dumps the program DVCOMP.BAS will be needed. Just click on the link to download. This is a BASIC file, and the interpreter GWBasic will be needed to run it. IBM BASICA may also work, but has not been tried. If you do not already have GWBasic it can be downloaded as a zipped file from the link given. GWBasic runs in DOS, and for the comparison to work GWBASIC.EXE, DVCOMP.BAS, and the 2 memory dump files must all be in the same directory. The syntax is: GWBASIC DVCOMP Note the single space between GWBASIC and DVCOMP. The program will then run and ask for the names of the 2 files to be compared. The read-out from the program showing where differences in memory values occur may be found in the file DV_DIFF.TXT. This program will only give meaningful information if the files to be compared relate to the same make and model of camcorder but in differing stages of "enablement", or the same make of camcorder and very similar but not identical models in the same state of enablement. To compare dissimilar models from the same manufacturer, or models from 2 different manufacturers, would be completely meaningless. The file DV_DIFF.TXT may be examined using MS-DOS EDIT.COM or Windows Notepad. If using Windows Notepad, choose a non-proportional spacing font such as Courier so that the columns all line up neatly. This will make reading and interpretation easier. It should be pointed out that DVCOMP.BAS has been designed for use specifically with the readouts of the memory contents of Sony mini-DV and Digital-8 camcorders. It has not been tested with Canon, JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, or any other make of digital camcorder. It does, however, work with some Sony analogue camcorders. Page last updated: 18 February, 2004 |
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