I did some editing in PP CS3 for a friend who needed some help on one of his projects. When I finished I thought it would be kind of cool to try recording out to the MRC1, like a variation of recording out to tape. For some reason or another, I couldn't seem to get it to work correctly. But my friend jumped on my computer and played with it for a while and eventually, he got it to record the finished program out to the MRC1. Cool, or so I thought. Today I went on a shoot and I recorded to tape and the MRC1. Everything seemed to work perfectly. I gave the client the tape and came back to download the CF card footage into CS3. I was alarmed to find that all of the footage on the CF card was corrupted. It had bursts with blocky patterns intermitantly covering the screen. It would freeze in the middle of takes and it lost time code. All sorts of problems. I frantically tried to analyze the problem. I tried different cards, re-formatting cards, shooting in both DV and HDV mode and nothing worked. I checked all of the menu settings on the MRC1 and the Z7 and I couldn't find anything out of whack on any settings. I even ran a virus scan on the MRC1 and all of the CF cards. I would record and everything would seem fine. The camcorder nor the MRC1 gave any indication of any issues, but the footage would come out un-useable. I had just about resigned myself to having to send the MRC1 in for service. Ultimately, I "reset" the MRC1 and I was thrilled to find that the MRC1 was back to recording flawlessly. I went back through both menus and checked to see what had changed and I couldn't find anything different at all. Has anybody else managed to screw up their MRC1 like this? Or am I just special? Hopefully the taped footage is fine.

After I reset it the other day all seemed good. I shot some test footage and no problems. So today, when I have a paying job, the MRC1 did it's thing again. Freeze frames, no video, intermitantly losing time code. Rat fuzzz. Anybody else had this happen? At least the tape recorded perfectly, so the client will be happy.

Why would anyone even want to attach the mrc1 to the computer in the first place? I use the computer's card reader to read. Even if I didn't have a built-in reader, I'd spend the $15 before I would go to all the bother of using the mrc1 (too much work for me). For transporting an $100 external hard drive is so much faster than the CF card.

Keith

Why would anyone even want to attach the mrc1 to the computer in the first place? I use the computer's card reader to read. Even if I didn't have a built-in reader, I'd spend the $15 before I would go to all the bother of using the mrc1 (too much work for me). For transporting an $100 external hard drive is so much faster the CF card.

Keith

Keith, in retrospect, obviously it wasn't a very good thing to do. I tried it mainly because I thought it might be useful someday and to know the capabilities of my equipment. The Sony literature said it would do it. They went to the trouble of supplying a docking station for that purpose. And I never conceived that it would create any problems. so I tried. I wish I hadn't. But I did. So do you have any suggestions on how to get it back to normal operation?

Keith, in retrospect, obviously it wasn't a very good thing to do. I tried it mainly because I thought it might be useful someday and to know the capabilities of my equipment. The Sony literature said it would do it. They went to the trouble of supplying a docking station for that purpose. And I never conceived that it would create any problems. so I tried. I wish I hadn't. But I did. So do you have any suggestions on how to get it back to normal operation?

I have a Sony hard disk unit (drc60?) and I had a problem with it that is similar to yours. I sent it back to Sony and they said that the firewire cable connection caused the problem --there is voltage in the larger firewire connector and it can short out if not properly connected. Perhaps your issue is not what you did but rather just a coincidence. Let me know. I am curious.

keith

I am so confused.....

Shot for a client yesterday. Since the MRC1 problem seemed to be isolated to the CF card and I have had no issues with the tape, I decided to run both. What could it hurt??? The MRC1 performed perfectly. So did the tape. I hate malfunctions that aren't consistant.

I am so confused.....

Shot for a client yesterday. Since the MRC1 problem seemed to be isolated to the CF card and I have had no issues with the tape, I decided to run both. What could it hurt??? The MRC1 performed perfectly. So did the tape. I hate malfunctions that aren't consistant.


Just out of curiosity, if you play the footage with Windows Media Player or similar player do you still have the problem? Also did you do a low-level format or a quick format of the CF card?

Keith

Just out of curiosity, if you play the footage with Windows Media Player or similar player do you still have the problem? Also did you do a low-level format or a quick format of the CF card?

Keith

When it is malfunctioning, no matter how it is viewed, it is corrupted. I have never done a quick format. Maybe I should. I have formatted in the MRC1 and in my desk top computer. So far, I haven't been able to figure out a consistant pattern of failure.

When it is malfunctioning, no matter how it is viewed, it is corrupted. I have never done a quick format. Maybe I should. I have formatted in the MRC1 and in my desk top computer. So far, I haven't been able to figure out a consistant pattern of failure.

keep us posted.

You might want to phone the Sony techs and see if they have had any similar issues. They may know about this problem.

Keith

Could be a loose connection pins? The CF recorder has a very fine pins that is easy to bend. Check the connectors from both the CF recorder and the camera to make sure it's not bent. Another thing is to clean the contacts of both connector.

Jun

I inspected all of the contacts with a magnifying glass and couldn't see anything out of line or dirty. I didn't try cleaning the contacts since I couldn't see any signs of a problem and I didn't want to risk doing more damage to the contacts.

Went on my shoot today. Everything seemed to be working fine. replayed a couple of takes from the CF card. Quick, easy, no worries about re-cueing, cool. After about 20 minutes of taping, I tried to replay a clip. I got time code blinking off and on and no picture. But I did have audio. Went back to recording. After a few more minutes the MRC1 threw me an error code which I think was F21-01, but I didn't have a chance to stop and jack with it. I just turned off the MRC1 and kept on shooting. when I had a break later, I turned it back on and all it said was "format error" and it never did anything again. I will check it out sometime after I have had a good dinner and a couple of stiff drinks. In other words, tomorrow.

Have you tried different CF card?

Jun

You might be right. I have 4 cards, altogether. And, I was positive that I was trying different cards. I have them labeled so I could tell which is which. But I am beginning to suspect that the problems are all on the same card. I have another shoot this afternoon so I am going to test it again. I am leaving the card I used yesterday out of my bag so I can't use it by mistake.