Anybody else have this problem and what has JVC done about it? It's kinda nuts...

http://www.theworksfilms.com/dp

Jamon this is a trait of the hd cameras I'm afraid and I don't know why. Fortunately (which is rather excellent) the hd cams have an in built dead pixel fixer that's very accessible. We pretty much run the pixel comp facility before every shoot with this camera.

Stick your camera in HD24p and let it re-boot

Press User 3 and Focus assist together then at the same time press and hold the status button for longer than a second. (so you are pressing 3 buttons at the same time here).

This will enter the relevant service menu and from here you will see Pixel Comp in the list. Scroll down and hit execute. The camera will (should) repair all of the dead pixels within about 15 seconds then ask you to power the camera off then on again.

Hey presto!

I'd love to know why these cameras in particular suffer so much from dead pixels. I've never come across it to this extent in any other unit.

There have been some recent threads explaining how to deal with dead pixels in post. I'd suggest you look at those to help you mend you footage.

Stuart

hey i had to leave the camera on for 2 hrs, then had to do it 6 times till i got them to go,

rob.

Beware though, you can only do it a certain number of times before the camera won't allow any more maskings.

john

Jamon this is a trait of the hd cameras I'm afraid and I don't know why. Fortunately (which is rather excellent) the hd cams have an in built dead pixel fixer that's very accessible. We pretty much run the pixel comp facility before every shoot with this camera.

Stick your camera in HD24p and let it re-boot

Press User 3 and Focus assist together then at the same time press and hold the status button for longer than a second. (so you are pressing 3 buttons at the same time here).

This will enter the relevant service menu and from here you will see Pixel Comp in the list. Scroll down and hit execute. The camera will (should) repair all of the dead pixels within about 15 seconds then ask you to power the camera off then on again.

Hey presto!

I'd love to know why these cameras in particular suffer so much from dead pixels. I've never come across it to this extent in any other unit.

There have been some recent threads explaining how to deal with dead pixels in post. I'd suggest you look at those to help you mend you footage.

Stuart


Stuart thanks a million! I was definitely about to call JVC and rant! I sent my camera in for service before and they sent it back the same way (I told them about the dead pixels)

Yeah out of all the footage i've seen, from various cameras i've never seen dead pix with any other manufacture. 2 other people I know have GY-HDs one is a late version 100 another a 110 and all of us have that issue. One other thing, I have a Letus HD 100 I haven't been able to get in it and clean it like I would like to u think somethin in there could be giving me what i think are some of those dead pix?

Thanks again i'll post how it went, I just performed 1 pass so we'll see.

BTW what software is there to repair what I have in the footage I already have? I know how to do it in After Effects but it's tedious as hell!

It worked... 1 try for me it didn't take long either. Thanks again Stuart for me and JVC!

John,

With the JVC hd pixel comp facility you can correct up to 127 errors with composite video levels of 50mV or more. There is no limit to the number of errors on any single line within your 127. However, the maximum consecutive errors are 4 and results may end up being worse than single correction so watch out.

Jamon I'm glad it got it sorted for you! As this camera does drops pixels rather too often I'd advise checking before every shoot....as I do now!

Ok, total newbie question, but I'm using a 200ub. How do I tell if I have dead pixels?

A dead pixel will show up as a white spot on a monitor and MAY not be large enough to show up on the viewfinder or LCD screen. It may look like a spot on the lens...

Each of my 2 HD200UB's has exhibited the "defect" within two months of new and each has successfully masked it upon activation of the procedure.

Hmm. So aiming the camera on a dark object would be a way to see it?

I have to say, the companies previous camera's were Sony's and they never seemed to need tweaking like this. The S270u we bought seems bullet proof in comparison. I do like the JVC a lot though, and the images are SPECTACULAR, I just get really nervous with everything that seems to go wrong with it.

Yeah, I'd be lying if I said the handful of issues don't bother me but MAN I love this camera.

I noticed my dead pixels in low light with the iris wide open with a dark background. All my previous camera experiences were Sony (M3, 507, 537, D30/35/50 dockables, DSR 300, 450, BetaSX one piece, VX1000, PD150/170 and Z1U) and I haven't ever seen a "mask dead pixel" subroutine before but I've heard that it IS a common defect with imagers. I just don't know how everyone else keeps us from seeing it.

Just remember: the subroutine requires that the camera be placed in 720P24 mode first. ONLY in 24 mode does the option become available.

Thank you Shaun. This is a bit like owning a fancy performance car. They are great when they work, but often prone to little issues.

Hmm. Why couldn't they just get it right the first time...:)

Jason look at the link in the thread to see what dead pixels look like. Stuart I will check before i shoot.

John,

With the JVC hd pixel comp facility you can correct up to 127 errors with composite video levels of 50mV or more. There is no limit to the number of errors on any single line within your 127. However, the maximum consecutive errors are 4 and results may end up being worse than single correction so watch out.

Jamon I'm glad it got it sorted for you! As this camera does drops pixels rather too often I'd advise checking before every shoot....as I do now!

hold on, so this means you can only correct the dead pixels no more than 127 times?

hold on, so this means you can only correct the dead pixels no more than 127 times?

That may not be true.

A JVC Service tech told me over the phone it could be done several
100 times. Way more than anyone would need over the life of the camera.

I've been shooting with my HD110 for 18 months and just now had two pixels blow at once. Can someone elaborate on the "limited number of times" we can run the "fix".

And, how much does JVC charge for service (cleaning tune-up vs. CCD replacement).

Referring to my earlier post in this thread;

"With the JVC hd pixel comp facility you can correct up to 127 errors with composite video levels of 50mV or more. There is no limit to the number of errors on any single line within your 127. However, the maximum consecutive errors are 4 and results may end up being worse than single correction so watch out."

The likely hood of you reaching these limits is extremely unlikely! That's a hell of a lot of dead pixels and if you are getting that many then you have some other underlying fault.

No need for JVC to service it to get pixels sorted out. If you are talking about a general service you'd do no worse than contacting your local broadcast kit dealer who will probably have an in house engineer to carry out your service or know of another reputable service agent. This is, of course, should your unit be out of warranty.

John,

With the JVC hd pixel comp facility you can correct up to 127 errors with composite video levels of 50mV or more. There is no limit to the number of errors on any single line within your 127. However, the maximum consecutive errors are 4 and results may end up being worse than single correction so watch out.


Thanks for that! The amount of times was unknown for a long time...

This is a real limitation on this cam, unfortunately. Here's why - if you do two feature in a row, you're looking at easily 30-40 masks. Four features? That'd be very close to maxing it out.

john

This is a real limitation on this cam, unfortunately. Here's why - if you do two feature in a row, you're looking at easily 30-40 masks. Four features? That'd be very close to maxing it out.

john


why would you mask 30-40 times for anything?

I've had to mask mine maybe 5 times in the last 3 years.

I would never mask just for the sake of masking....that's a waste
and not recommended at all.

Hmm. So aiming the camera on a dark object would be a way to see it?

I have to say, the companies previous camera's were Sony's and they never seemed to need tweaking like this. The S270u we bought seems bullet proof in comparison. I do like the JVC a lot though, and the images are SPECTACULAR, I just get really nervous with everything that seems to go wrong with it.

The correct process for finding dead pixels is to let the camera warm up for a couple of hours and turn the gain up (+9 or whatever). You can find the dead pixels right away with the gain up and then try to see if they are visible at a normal gain and iris level.

It helps to have a nice monitor to look at...crank the contrast and boost the brightness a little.

All camera's get dead pixels...yet, some camera's seem to have greater problems. I recently checked 4 Sony D-30's at the shop to check for dead pixels (set it to HYPER-gain and iris closed) and all the cameras had dead pixels. One camera had an exessive amount (11). And that camera's dead pixels were only visible when you boost the gain above 0 (+6 or +9). The other 3 camera's had dead pixels but they were not visible even at +9.

Camera's w/ larger chips and better light levels tend not to reveal the dead pixel that is there.

One instance of dead pixels here since I own the GY-HD251 (I've also exerienced it one with a 110). The only two reliable ways to check are aiming the cam at a dark background or with lens cap on and a) view with a HD monitor b) if you have a HDD, record a HD quicktime then transfer and check it on your PC. When you're shooting, you should check this every day.

Most HD cameras develop dead pixels. The last instance I know of was with a Sony XDCAM HD owned by an acquaintance.
But just contrast the relative risks of dead pixels against all that can go wrong on 16mm or 35mm film: must be 1:100 !

why would you mask 30-40 times for anything?

I've had to mask mine maybe 5 times in the last 3 years.

I would never mask just for the sake of masking....that's a waste
and not recommended at all.

We've had to mask a least 20 times for dead pixels - we're not doing it for fun!

And somethings those little buggers just don't want to go away, even if the camera is warmed up, even is you jack up the gain, etc - they just stay there... Until finally they are gone, for reasons that are mysterious to me.

Now this is for a full length feature, shot largely in dark situations, but they do seem to occur more with this cam than other cams...

Is there a link to a white paper or official JVC stance on this issue?

john

I found some dead pixels and followed your instructions, but had to select camera1 in the advanced menu, then it skips over pixel compensation...it won't let me select it. Any ideas on how to get it to work? Thanks! I have the HD100(A)

I found some dead pixels and followed your instructions, but had to select camera1 in the advanced menu, then it skips over pixel compensation...it won't let me select it. Any ideas on how to get it to work? Thanks! I have the HD100(A)
You have to be in HDV-24P mode.

You have to be in HDV-24P mode.

Great! That worked! Thank you!

To see the dead pixel you can also use the "Focus Assist"-function, so you can see the
defect/dead pixels hightlighted with a colour.

A timely discovery of this thread, as I just scored my first dead pixi or two.

why would you mask 30-40 times for anything?

I've had to mask mine maybe 5 times in the last 3 years.

I would never mask just for the sake of masking....that's a waste
and not recommended at all.

Shoot a feature on it - you'll be masking at least 20-30 times at least.

john

You have to be in HDV-24P mode.

Hi Tim , I have tried to do the pixel comp.. hold down focus assist + user 3+ status for 3 seconds.. nothing just goes to the regular menu screen..

I'm on 24 p mode and have it on stand by... user 3 button is assigned to nonne..

it says A at the end of the serial #.. i have the hd 100 u..

i can see the dead pixels when shooting hd only..
thanks please help

Gibran,

Too many buttons....just hold down the two... "focus assist" and "menu/status" for 5 seconds.

Good luck.