Sony Admits Bad Batch(es) of HDV Tape at DVinfo.net

Don Palomaki · November 16th, 2010, 12:01 PM

See attached - thanks go to to LeVern Danley

Chris Hurd · November 16th, 2010, 12:10 PM

Thanks Don,

This thread moved from Canon XH to Industry News since it has the
potential to affect many more people than just those who are using
Canon XH series camcorders.

Allan Black · November 16th, 2010, 02:59 PM

Don there's a strange sentence in Sonys notification that reads ..

"However if the cassette functioned normally the first time the head clogging problem will not occur".

I don't believe it, one or two good tapes in a declared defective production batch of tapes, return ALL of them.

The trouble is Sony doesn't yet know what condition those cassettes will be in after some time in storage. From my experience they could deteriorate and actually cause damage to the heads .. if they're played sometime in the future.

If anyone is in this situation and has one of those tapes, transfer the video material to another known 'good' tape asap. You could keep the Sony tape for a few years then send it to Sony, see if it stuffs up their heads.

And how did this happen, is Sony outsourcing their quality control or have they removed a QC stage or 2 altogether. The signs are not good.

This reminds me of a very similar situation years ago when Ampex in Redwood City CA shipped defective tape and it literally ate the heads. There was a loud bacon frying sound and the mu-metal shield surrounding the heads just ended up a molten mess. EMI here lost 2 very expensive head stacks in 15mins when they tried a 2nd machine.

Ampex explanation was, the tapes became contaminated during shipping .. no one believed that, someone fell asleep.

For years when new Ampex arrived, you'd drag the first few feet of tape over some cooking alfoil, to see if it started to fry .. while AC/DC etc looked on in disbelief.

Cheers.

Don Palomaki · November 16th, 2010, 04:15 PM

The whole thing is strange, and reminds me a bit of of the fiasco in the 1990 when ther was the flap over tape lubes. Sony blinked, had a (convenient?) factory fire, and change ther lube to something close to the Panasonic formulation. Rumor was that for a while they spooled Panasonic tape until they got their production liens working again

Since I do not use Sony tape stock, I have not followed this HDV tape issue closely or had personal experience with it, just passing on info provided by others.

I recall a bad batch of Maxell branded CDs several years ago - bad QC.

Possible outsourcing adn in any case poor QC and QA will lead to this.

Wonder if anyone at Sony is falling on their sword over this - probably not?

November 16th, 2010, 12:10 PM	#2
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Thanks Don, This thread moved from Canon XH to Industry News since it has the potential to affect many more people than just those who are using Canon XH series camcorders. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 16th, 2010, 02:59 PM	#3
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,936	Don there's a strange sentence in Sonys notification that reads .. "However if the cassette functioned normally the first time the head clogging problem will not occur". I don't believe it, one or two good tapes in a declared defective production batch of tapes, return ALL of them. The trouble is Sony doesn't yet know what condition those cassettes will be in after some time in storage. From my experience they could deteriorate and actually cause damage to the heads .. if they're played sometime in the future. If anyone is in this situation and has one of those tapes, transfer the video material to another known 'good' tape asap. You could keep the Sony tape for a few years then send it to Sony, see if it stuffs up their heads. And how did this happen, is Sony outsourcing their quality control or have they removed a QC stage or 2 altogether. The signs are not good. This reminds me of a very similar situation years ago when Ampex in Redwood City CA shipped defective tape and it literally ate the heads. There was a loud bacon frying sound and the mu-metal shield surrounding the heads just ended up a molten mess. EMI here lost 2 very expensive head stacks in 15mins when they tried a 2nd machine. Ampex explanation was, the tapes became contaminated during shipping .. no one believed that, someone fell asleep. For years when new Ampex arrived, you'd drag the first few feet of tape over some cooking alfoil, to see if it started to fry .. while AC/DC etc looked on in disbelief. Cheers. __________________ Drink more tap water. On admission at Sydney hospitals more than 5% of day patients are de-hydrated.

November 16th, 2010, 04:15 PM	#4
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	The whole thing is strange, and reminds me a bit of of the fiasco in the 1990 when ther was the flap over tape lubes. Sony blinked, had a (convenient?) factory fire, and change ther lube to something close to the Panasonic formulation. Rumor was that for a while they spooled Panasonic tape until they got their production liens working again Since I do not use Sony tape stock, I have not followed this HDV tape issue closely or had personal experience with it, just passing on info provided by others. I recall a bad batch of Maxell branded CDs several years ago - bad QC. Possible outsourcing adn in any case poor QC and QA will lead to this. Wonder if anyone at Sony is falling on their sword over this - probably not? __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com