HDV Capture with PPCS3

Hi;

Please, if you can, read this entire post before rolling your eyes at me. This is my first run at HDV on PPCS3 and I need to make sure.

A producer gave me some tapes which were recorded on a Sony Z1U.
Assuming they were recorded in HDV Mode we rented a Sony HVR M15U to
digitize.

I set up an HDV project in PPCS3 under the 1080/60i preset (as per Douglas on the HDV Forum) and used my 4 to 6 pin firewire to make the connection. When I go to capture the message I get at the top of the capture screen is "Can't activate recorder. Try resetting camera". After trying all of the different device settings I still couldn't get any action on the capture screen.

This, however, is where it gets either very hard or very easy.

When I change the capture settings from HDV to DV capture then I can capture ok but importing the footage into the 1080/60I project only fills a small portion of the screen. The footage registers as
720x480(1.2) in the project folders as well and fills the screen properly in a 720x480 widescreen preset project.

I guess what I really need to understand is if the shooters downconverted in camera, shot in DV Wide, or if I am somehow doing something wrong and downconverting their footage as I digitize.

I have read all relevant parts of the HVR M15U manual and believe that I have all of the switches set properly to dump over HDV but I cannot gain access to the on-screen menus. By the way the shooters and their cameras are unavailable to us at this time but that doesn't change my deadline.

As always any help is appreciated

Dan