I have a bunch of video of some presentations that I shot on a XL1s in LP mode. When I play it back on my Sony TRV-900 (which has now been demoted to my editing deck on the computer), I get really bad blocky video with audio dropouts. Video playback and capture from the Canon is just fine. Only when I try it on the Sony is when I have problems.

I tried cleaning both cameras. I also tried playing back Sony footage recorded in LP on the canon and everything is fine that way! Is this a compression issue between Sony's and Canon's LP setting? How come it works one direction and not the other?

Maybe Sony doesn't play well with others! :^)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

In the manual of the Sony equipment I have, it says that LP mode is not compatible with their equipment.

DV is DV across all manufacturers. But LP mode recording across all camera brands is notoriously finnicky when it comes to replay reliability. This does not (necessarily) represent a problem with either camera. It's more indicative of the slight LP implementations variations that each manufacturer seems to implement. LP can even cause such problems among the same models of the same camera.

That said, my recommendations:

1. Capture the footage using the -same camera- that recorded the footage. I'd suggest dubbing to another miniDV tape recording in SP mode.

2. Treat LP mode as you would anthrax; just stay away from it. Act like it doesn't exist. If you absolutely must get more time per tape use one of the slightly longer miniDV tapes currently available -or- shoot with one of the Sony pro cams using DVCam tapes (which can provide up to several hours of footage on a single tape).

Wow thanks for the quick reply! That is kind of what I was thinking but wasn't too sure!

I orderd some 80 minute DV tapes to try and combat this problem last week. So I'll give those a try! Do these 80 minute tapes actually use a thinner medium so the quality of tape is degraded? My supplier wasn't real sure. But against the alternative (LP mode) anything would be better in SP mode. I definately agree about avoiding LP like the plague but sometimes you get in a pinch!

Thanks again!

Reportedly the Mylar substrate of the 80min tapes is a bit thinner than in the 60min tapes. But if you also follow the rule of only using a tape once it shouldn't be a problem. Also, as you may already know, pick an' stick with a single tape brand. Don't jump brands for "blow-out" sales.

I'll weigh in on this, as well. Ken's advice is sound-- stick with the best quality you can get. At one time, I had some problems with "run of the mill" 80 min DV tapes, but since using the Panny MQ Master 83 minute tapes (white case), I've had no further problems.