What is "threading"?

The threading operation is what takes place when you load up a tape and the camcorder "threads" the tape around the heads and readies it for playback or recording.

John

how do you check the hours on you tape head on the PD150... i'm purchasing a used one later tonight, and would like to check the usage before i buy... thank you...

Last item on the last menu

Recently aquired a VX-2000 which has 256 hours on it. Is this moderate, high? 256 isn't the limit of the hour meter, is it (256 being FF in hex)?

How did you determine the head hours since there is no menu to accomplish same?

Recently aquired a VX-2000 which has 256 hours on it. Is this moderate, high? 256 isn't the limit of the hour meter, is it (256 being FF in hex)?

I had to send it to Sony for servicing and requested they tell me. There's a special tool you can buy for this as well. I forget what its called, there's some posts here about it.

You can use the RM-95 for this. Here's how to get one:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=181342&postcount=5

I've never touched a pd150 before but a freind of mine has the chance to buy one for about $1700, and wants to know how to check the hours. He owns a vx 2100 right now and i own a vx2000, so with both know the menu system for those camcorders, but not the pd versions.

Any help would be appricated....and is $1700 a decnet price on them?

The hours meter is the last item in the last menu in the camera.

Everything should be multipled by 10 to get the actual hours (I think it tells you that) except the last value. So if the top number reads 60 then it really is telling you 600 hours.

Thank you.

i can't remember if the vx2100 has an hours meter measuring its use

i know the pd150/pd170 does.

can anyone point me to which screen w/in the menu would allow me access to the hours menu?

thanks in advance

be well

rob katz
harvest film

No, there isn't a menu item for that on the VX-2000 or 2100. However there is a way to find out if you want to spend a few bucks; get an RM-95. See the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=181342

Can someone explain what all this stuff means on a pd150.

Operation 41x10h, Drum 18x10h, Tape 10x10h, and threading 72x10h,

operation is how long the camera has been on.
drum is how many times round the drum has run.
tape is how many hours have been recorded.
and i think threading has something to do with how many times the tape has been ejected.. but im not 100% sure on that one.

Thanks Joe! I thought that was what the operation and tape were but not sure about the others...Now, this may sound stupid but does the " X 10" literally mean "times ten"

In other words, does 41 X 10 mean 410 hours?

Thanks

yes - X 10

is this alot of hours or not?
i dont really understand the x10 thing. is it just multiply by 10 or what

Hour meter:
operation: 30x10
drum: 19x10
tape 10x10
threading: 57x10
thanks for looking and helping

by the way it is a pd150 if that matters

Hour meter:

operation: 30x10
drum: 19x10
tape 10x10
threading: 57x10

is this alot of hours or not?
dont really understand the whole x10 thing
thanks

Those numbers except the threading numbers get multipied by 10 as you surmised. those are very low numbers for a PD150 and, in general, low numbers for any camera.

anyone that can help please

Hi Nate and welcome to DVinfo. I suspect you haven't gotten a response since the thread title was "help with ours" instead of "help with hours" :-) Also, it would help if you give a clue as to what sort of camera you're asking about.

I'm assuming it's probably a PD150/PD170 so I'm moving this thread to the correct forum. But this question comes up a lot so have a look at some of these threads, which our "search" function turned up:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=65523
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=36625
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=29843
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=28263
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=10959

thanks so much

i hope to get the pd150 but i am in the air for a gl2 also.
i had a gl1 and liked it but it seemed too old.

frankly I would go with the 150 not just because I'm a Sony kind of guy but look at the features of the 2 cameras.
The 150 has bigger chips than the GL2, it has superior low light capabilities over the GL2, it has easier and more control over the image than the GL2. Other than that, I guess they're pretty close ;-)

Go for the Sony, I think you'll be very happy with it.

Don

thanks i think i will get a vx2000. i have usually had real good luck with sony as i have alot of sony stuff(dvdplayer,tv,ect.)
thanks so much

Hey Nate. FWIW, the VX-2000 and GL-2 don't provide any way to tell you how many hours are on the camera. That feature is only available on the PD-150, PD-170, PDX-10 and HVR-Z1.

i know i just am looking to spend about 1400.
i am just wieghing my options

I've often heard people say they have "low hours" on their camcorder or even give the amount of hours. Is there a feature on the camcorder that determines the hours used?

thanks,
nancy

Unfortunately there isn't an easy way to do this on a VX-2000. The PD-150, PD-170, PDX-10, HVR-Z1, HVR-V1 and HVR-A1 have this feature but their consumer "cousins" don't.

Sony used to made a wired remote control which connected to the camera via the LANC jack. It had an LCD display on it and could be used to read the hours (see: http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/rm95.html). Unfortunately, I don't believe it's available anymore. However a service center which works on Sony cameras might have one.

Unfortunately there isn't an easy way to do this on a VX-2000. The PD-150, PD-170, PDX-10, HVR-Z1, HVR-V1 and HVR-A1 have this feature but their consumer "cousins" don't.

Sony used to made a wired remote control which connected to the camera via the LANC jack. It had an LCD display on it and could be used to read the hours (see: http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/rm95.html). Unfortunately, I don't believe it's available anymore. However a service center which works on Sony cameras might have one.

THanks...Nancy

I know this is extremely simple, and i've looked quite a few places, but how do you read the hour meters on the PD170? Does 5x10 mean 50 hours? I've been researching this camera for about a month and I can't find what it means. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to DVinfo Dustin. No need to look in quite a few places, just use the search feature on our site. The following threads should help:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=65523
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=36625
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=29843
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=28263
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=10959

Good deal, thanks for the help. I appreciate it!!

Hi!

I am getting ready to sell my Sony DCR VX2000 to help pay for my next camera (Canon XL2) and I am wondering how to find out how many hours the drum has on it.

Thanks,

Dale

As far as I know you can't. sony or and authorized repair shop would be the only way to do that. No menu item on the 2000 or 2100 like the 150 or 170 and Sony full size cams.

Don

Actually you can do it with an RM-95 wired remote - see John Beale's discussion here: http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/rm95.html

Sony used to sell these online for about $70. Just did a search as per a post I made long ago (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost.php?p=181342&postcount=5) and got the following:
Part# J6082053B has been discontinued.
Sorry, the part and/or accessory that you requested is no longer available. If you have questions or would like to talk to one of our customer service representatives, please call 1-800-488-SONY (7669).

But perhaps an authorized dealer would have one they could use to read your hours?

Hello all,

Does anyone out there know if the VX2100 show you the total drum hours the camera has on it? I have looked in the manual and have found nothing. I am looking at possibly selling mine and I want to be accurate in advertising the camera's usage.

Aloha,
Ron

Unfortunately the VX camera's can't display usage stats like the PD-xxx and HVR-xxx series. You can use a RM-95 remote to read the hours, but you'd have to find a used one somewhere since Sony doesn't seem to sell them anymore. You might be able to get a service center to read the hours for you. For more info see these threads:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=101870
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=181342

Thank You.

How much do you want for it Ron?

Please use our Private Classifieds section for all forsale items: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Thanks.

would like your thoughts/evaluations...

looking at this used but not abused pd150...about 5 yrs old...great outward condition...regular head cleaning intervals...owner is indie filmmaker...

operation...92x10
drum run...47X10
tape run...34x10
threading...190X10

Head run is the most important. Probably about 1/2-2/3rds used up. 150/170 heads last somewhere between 600 and 1000 hours as best I know. Depends on the operating environment and the tape brand to some degree.

Bits on the transport don't last a lot longer in my experience. My first 150 ate the tensioner pulley and the lower head bearings at about 600 hours.

Regular head cleaning is NOT a good idea. Head cleaning, if you mean the cleaning tape is abrasive. Manual cleaning (which means you have to remove the tape drawer cover and use cleaner and appropriate swabs is OK but rarely done on these cameras. I probably haven't cleaned the heads on my 150 more than 3 times. I managed a stable of Sony DV camcorders for a local college and we never cleaned the heads (and we insisted they use Sony DV tapes always). Only clean the heads when they are fouled which shouldn't be very often.

For other reasons, Sony gave me a new 150 to replace my original camera.