Player One 585 mono issue with Sharpcap and Metaguide

[Rickl]

When I have used Metaguide with my Player One 585 mono camera and try to connect with Sharpcap, Sharpcap informs me that the camera has disconnected. The big issue is that Sharpcap does not even recognize the camera, nor will restarting Sharpcap allow it to discover the camera I have even restarted the computer and the camera is not detected, so I pack it in for the night. The next morning the camera loads and works just fine. This has happened twice. A Google search indicates the issue is with the Direct Show drivers with the Player One camera. I imagine that PO needs to fix their driver? The same issue seems to be present for Nina. I am just wondering if anyone is aware of a workaround/solution?

Rick Lindsay

[admin]

Hi Rick,

not seen that one myself, but I tend to avoid using the 'DirectShow' drivers for cameras if at all possible. It sounds as though maybe the DirectShow driver is not cleaning up properly, which could then leave the camera as effectively 'in use', preventing other applications from accessing it until the computer is rebooted.

Have you tried unplugging and then reconnecting the camera when it is in this state to see if that is enough to clear the problem - that's the only thing I can think of to suggest.

cheers,

Robin

[Rickl]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I did disconnect the camera and powered it off, restarted the computer and upon restart the computer binged when I connected the USB but Sharpcap did not see the camera. I packed up for the night on both occasions. I sent an email to Player One support who promptly replied and requested I try a few things. I will insert the email exchange with the puzzling but good results.

On Mon, Jul 13, 2026 at 12:18 AM 支持 <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear Rick,

Thank you for reaching out, and we're sorry to hear about the intermittent connection issue with your camera. We understand how frustrating it is when a camera works perfectly one day and refuses to be recognised the next, especially after you've already tried restarting the computer.

To help us diagnose the root cause, could you please clarify a few points?



1.When the issue occurs, are you using both MetaGuide and SharpCap together to control the camera? If so, could you describe in more detail how the two programs interact? For example, do you connect the camera first in MetaGuide, then close MetaGuide and open SharpCap? Or are both running simultaneously?

I first ran Sharpcap before launching Metaguide. The camera behaved properly in Sharpcap. I closed Sharpcap and then launched Metaguide. The camera behaved properly in Metaguide.


I shutdown Metaguide. I then closed the camera in Sharpcap but left Sharpcap still running. I launched Metaguide and connected to the camera and the camera behaved properly..


Next I shutdown Metaguide but Sharpcap is still running in the background. I connected the camera to Sharpcap and the camera behaved properly. I next launched Metaguide and connected to the camera while the camera was still open in Sharpcap. The camera did not respond to either program, but I did not get the camera disconnected warning from Sharpcap. I then closed the unresponsive camera in Sharpcap and then reconnected Sharpcap to the camera which behaved properly.


I then launched Metaguide and connected the camera while the camera was still open in Sharpcap, The camera responded to metaguide and did respond to changing light levels but was noticeably sluggish. The controls in Sharpcap had no effect on the camera.


I then shutdown Metaguide but i could not get the camera to respond in Sharpcap. I then kept Sharpcap running but closed the camera. I then [/color]reopened the camera in Sharpcap and it behaved properly.

2.When SharpCap fails to detect the camera, can MetaGuide still connect to it? That would help us determine whether the problem is specific to SharpCap's driver handling or a general USB communication issue.

In these tests Sharcap was able to detect and open the camera under all the circumstances I tried which did not result in recreating the problems of the previous observing sessions.



3.If you open only SharpCap (without having used MetaGuide first), does the camera connect reliably? Please test this as a standalone scenario – power on the camera, start SharpCap, and try to connect. This will help us rule out any conflict between the two applications.

Yes, the camera ran fine (see above).



I can only conclude that either the prescence of the mount and focuser may have played an issue with the USB or I did something other than what I thought I was actually doing (most likely). . The camera was connected to a powered USB hub which was connected and working properly. At the moment all seems well. I am perplexed but happy with the results of the testing. I will be more attentive to ensuring that I do not try to connect to the camera at the same time with both software packages.

I appreciate your efforts,
Rick Lindsay

[admin]

Hi,

glad to hear that you got it resolved

cheers,

Robin