Has anyone tried the new Vegas 6 to see if it can capture stereo audio from the PDX10? I know version 5 could not.

Vegas 6 still just does a mono capture from the PDX10.

Try Scenalyzer:

http://www.scenalyzer.com/main.html

You could try to capture the video using a second camera (if you have one). I have a PDX10 and a GL2 and I use the GL2 to capture my PDX10 tapes. It captures 48k stereo fine.

In my experience, playing the tapes in a different deck usually doesn't alleviate the problem. It's related to the media flag that is recorded on the tape itself. It's possible that your deck is not passing this flag through and therefore allowing correct capture, but most decks will still capture incorrectly with PDX-10 footage if they are used with an NLE that is not working correctly to begin with. Are you sure your NLE doesn't capture it correctly even if you play it in the PDX-10 itself? In other words, does your NLE just plain work correctly with PDX-10 footage no matter how it's played?

When I use Vegas Capture to grab video directly from the PDX10, I get 48K mono, not stereo.

When I capture a PDX10 tape using my GL2, I get 48K stereo.

Go figure.

That's good to know. Was your original PDX-10 footage shot in DV mode or DVCAM? That might also make a difference.

My original footage was shot in miniDV, then captured using my GL2.

I'm not sure I'll ever use DVCAM, from what I've read it doesn't offer any significant value over miniDV. Do I have that wrong? Is there a reason to use DVCAM?

1. DVCam runs faster than standard DV mode. This makes any drop out area on the tape a shorter duration.

2. Audio is LOCKED to video. This means that on long captures you won't have sync issues.

As far as I know these are the main reasons to use DVCam over standard DV. You will only get 40min on a 60min tape. I do ALL of my recording in DVCam mode.

This topic has been discussed frequently. For some background see the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=17454
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25252
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26190
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7958

From what I've read on the web, it doesn't seem that DVCAM makes a significant difference on dropout or sync. I guess if I were going to shoot something very important that lasts less than 40 minutes, I might use DVCAM.

I pretty much agree with you Jeff. When I shoot performances the 40 minute length of the DVCAM tapes are usually a problem so I use DV SP. I can usually re-shoot these if needed anyway. But if I'm shooting something that would be difficult or impossible to replace (like on location with a bunch of other people) I figure I might as well go DVCAM for a little extra peace of mind.

But Canon and Panasonic sell lots of non-DVCAM cameras and you don't hear many people complaining. Also, consider that Sony is the world's largest maker of magnetic media. Could they - just maybe - have a vested interest in a format that uses 50% more tape? ;-)

Another interesting discussion is reusing miniDV (or DVCAM) tapes. Many posters say they NEVER reuse a tape since they are inexpensive. Others say they've had no problems reusing tapes and Sony claims you can reuse their miniDV tapes 3000 times without failure.

It seems excessive to me to throw away a tape after every use. I guess if you have Steven Spielberg's budget, why not? But for me, just trying to turn a small profit, I can't justify throwing them away.

For weddings and theatre performances, I have 2 cameras rolling all the time, so if I ever get a dropout, I just use the other camera's footage. So far, I've only gotten one drop out for half a second and it was easy to work around the drop out.

For what I do, it's not worth buying a new tape for every recording.

Just my $0.02.

-Jeff

That's good to know. Was your original PDX-10 footage shot in DV mode or DVCAM? That might also make a difference.

Has anyone explored rather stereo is captured (in PC) in DVCAM mode? Or it doesn't matter, the PC firewire still doesn't capture stereo from the PDX10?

I keep forgetting to check this but I am pretty sure I can capture stereo (Ch1 / Ch2) using DVCam through my DSR-11 deck via 1394 into Avid Xpress Pro 4.5.3.

I am sure I have cut with 2 Ch from that setup. I'll check tonight if I get the time. I believe I can do the same with MiniDV.

Sean McHenry

I'm on normal PC and I use Sony DVGate Motion to capture my footage. I will also allow me to capture one of the two channels to get along with the footage.

If I want the other channel of sound, I have re-run the entire tape and grab just that other channel.

In the end, I do get both channels, but twice the work.

With Scenalizer, I tried it. It did caputre other second channel at the same time, as I recall (correct me if I'm wrong), but I couldn't use the footage in Premeire for some reason. I was using the demo version.