Hello all...
Anyone here still using D-9 also known as Digital S? I picked up a player deck (BR-350) and camera (DY-700) to play around with ... I must say even though SD, the images look FANTASTIC.

Biggest problem seems to be where to obtain blank media... : (
If anyone has any sources for tape I would love to hear from you ...


thanks

I had one of the recorders many years ago but had a fire and it was damaged.
I recall that you could use a premium S-VHS tape and drill a hole in the case. There is a sensor that tells what type of tape is being used. A hole will fool the machine and it will act as if you have the right tape.
Those tapes were difficult to get and very expensive.
The quality was really good but I'm wondering what we would think of the images now that we are used to HD.

Dave
You might look at Tape Resources dot com to see if they still carry it. I used to use them for all my tape needs but not for a long time. Gotta love solid state.

Peter - thanks for the reply.... I have to say (toying around with the format for a few months since I posted this first message) that the format is INCREDIBLE (albeit SD) ... Amazing color definition!

Although I shoot most of my projects in HDV and have been for a couple years I could see using this for something in the future.... wonder why it really never caught on... it looks as good as or better than Digi Beta. !


Don - thanks for the info... I will check them out for tapes.... what I have been doing is buying (hoarding? :)) them when I see them on Ebay... :)

wonder why it really never caught on... it looks as good as or better than Digi Beta. !

Two reasons - proprietary format and 1/2".

I remember VERY seriously looking at the format back in 1999 when it was all the rage of the back page adverts on all the major trade periodicals but at that point the 6mm revolution had begun and was in full swing.

Whether you adopted Sony's DVCam or Panasonic's DVCPro was HEAVILY influenced by what city you lived in. In Winnipeg, Manitoba where I was, there was almost ZERO uptake of DVCPro as Winnipeg has historically been a Sony City. In Vancouver, BC though there was a much higher uptake of Panasonic's 6mm offerings and I understand Toronto sort of split the two.

Broadcasters in Winnipeg went DVCam (if they didn't go BetaSX, which the CBC did mostly because Sony made them an offer they couldn't refuse in advance of the Nagano Olympics) while other cities went DVCPro OR (in limited numbers) Sony's IMX tape based format that evolved into XDCam on disc.

I think the size of the alternatives killed it. Everyone was trying to get smaller, and the physical size of the VHS cassette was the issue. The Panasonic 800 SVHS was a great camera with good performance, but as big and heavy as Beta, and the JVC Digitals were again just too big and heavy.

Peter - thanks for the reply.... I have to say (toying around with the format for a few months since I posted this first message) that the format is INCREDIBLE (albeit SD) ... Amazing color definition!

Although I shoot most of my projects in HDV and have been for a couple years I could see using this for something in the future.... wonder why it really never caught on... it looks as good as or better than Digi Beta. !


Don - thanks for the info... I will check them out for tapes.... what I have been doing is buying (hoarding? :)) them when I see them on Ebay... :)

We adopted Digital-S when it was first introduced and used D9 for quite a few years and agree about the quality. We have much tape with only one pass raw footage that was archived. Not sure what your needs are for stock...... I believe we even have sealed NOS. shoot me a private message if interested.

Shaun - yupper suppose that would be enough to kill the format out of the gate... (size) ... I have to admit the camera I have (DY-700) is a BEAST... heavier than my old JVC X2B SVHS camera... :)

Brian - PM sent.

thanks

I've got blank media and also a KY-D29 dockable camera with the BR-D40 D-9 recorder back. It has an aspherical lens and the better B&W viewfinder. It worked well the last time I used it, somewhat marginal pixel block but works fine with no hot pixels. It shot the regional series "Carmel Magazine" as well as the sci-fi spoof film "Baberellas" and the "America We Stand as One" music video that was huge.

If anyone is interested email me at, drum roll please, tipsd9video@msn.com

I never used Digital S , but we have some MII kit at work , which was another Panasonic development , loosely based on the VHS cassette .

Tip --

Ahhh the D29.... now THAT was a camera that made amazing images.... never got close to that myself ... well until recently with my D90W purchase on Ebay... (basically an enhanced ky-d29 head with D9 back all in one 'lightweight' :) unit )

Really strange... I can understand the size issue not in D9's favor... but man... for SD images it seems to be as good as it got... ? ;)

I used Digital-S DY90 along with the digital-s edit decks for six years. Now finally trying to find a new home for them along with other equipment. I have tried to sell each item for just a few hundred but no interest. Anyone out there want them for the cost of shipping and handling? I'm in Southern California. I need to clean out my office so my stuff has to go but feel funny about taking to the recycle place. Someone out there might want it. Here is what I have.

Dy90 d9 / digital-s with 18 x 1 lens.
JVC Digital-S Deck BR-D350U.
SONY 3/4" deck VO 9850.
JVC SVHS deck BR-S622U.
BM-h1900su Jvc. 13" sd 4 x 3 monitor.
Tektronix WFM 601E Serial Component Wave Form Monitor/vectorscope.
Videotek Dl-810 SD legalizer .

Gary,
I'd love to have the JVC SVHS deck. I shot show on SVHS-C cassettes some years back with their X-1 camcorder and would love to capture those to digital. I believe the 622/822 took compact cassettes without the JVC adaptor.

Heck, I'd even drive down to pick it up!
Shoot me a pm.
Best,
Ken

Hi Gary... yeah the DY-90U is a great camera... stunning images...
Shoot me a PM I might even be interested in giving you some $$ for it :)

Yeah the 622U is a great SVHS deck... probably the finest ever built... I still have a 522-DXU (variable tracking for slo mo) and 522-DXU in my edit suite for capturing VHS and SVHS..