Re: Case for MiniDV Deck
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Brian Vilevac : Anyone know of a good case for the Sony GV-D1000 MiniDV Deck? Now that I have invested $1000 for the deck, I thought it would be nice to have a protective case for it! -->>>
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I'll answer anyway, even though you've returned it. I made a very durable, waterproof and cheap carrying case for my GV-D1000 and it also fits my GV-D200 and MVC-FDR3. I went to a variety store and bought a good quality, square-shaped, plastic food container. It has a snaptop and is polyethylene, which is the material of Tupperware. I used a compatible adhesive and lined it all around inside with 1/2-inch, closed-cell foam, from a camping pad (Insulite). The total cost was about $8. I'm constantly carrying one or the other of these portable units around for display of video or still pictures. I can drop them into a backpack when inside this case, without worrying about damage from impact or moisture. If I'm out in rough territory, I also put the case inside a large ziplock bag.

Another type of inexpensive carrying case that I use for all sorts of cameras and accessories, is insulated lunch bags, that I find at grocery or variety stores. These are sturdy and have built-in padding. I have found several at cutrate places for $5. to $10. and they're just as good as designated camera bags that might cost much more. I fit the shoulder straps that come with cameras onto them for hands-free carrying. They all have several smaller pockets for tapes, batteries, etc.

I concur with what J. Stephen says about the JVC. Once you get around the menus to get it to do what you want, these decks are pretty good tools to go from digital to (S)VHS. They have fairly competent TBC and noise correctors within them so you can do these transfers casually and still get good quality.

What is a Deck?
 

I know for most of you guys this sounds like the dumbest question ever but...

What is a DV Deck? What's it used for? Its' Purpose?

VTR. Tapedeck. The same as vhs but different. Quite a few dv producers use a cheap camcorder to playback tapes, as a "deck".

Don't feel stupid, we are all here to learn from each other ;-) That said, like Jimmy said, it's just a kind of videorecorder, where you can put your (mini dv for example) tapes in, so you can play them back, maybe connect it to a computer, so you don't need to wear your heads of your cam every time you want to capture your footage to edit.
That's why I think many people buy them, to reduce the wear on their cameraheads.

What's a Camera head?

It's the part that makes your tape spin, or record. Like the heads of your videotaperecorder.
Or like the things in your walkman, to play your tape. The things that make the tape spin, that are the heads (I hope I'm not mistaken, but I think I'm right).
So if you put a lot of wear on them, they will be dirty (each manufacturer uses other chemicals in their tape, so if you choose to film with a brand of tape, stick with it, because if you change, your heads can become dirty) or after a while, they'll just are broke. So instead of putting a lot of wear on your camera heads, which already have to work when you are recording, people many times use a deck or a cheap camera to play things back.
I hope that's a little bit clear, but otherwise, feel free to ask.

After doing some research...

Why are they so expensive if all they do is play back the tape?

Don't listen to those guys.

A deck is what holds a boat down on the water. Without a deck, it would float up into the sky.

A camera head is someone who eats, sleeps and breathes about cameras.

This is a unique sort of product in that there is no truly comsumer product cousin that you will find for this mid-level priced product. For that reason as well as economics of scale: they'll sell one of these to every 1000 camcorders, the manufacturers make them robust enough to meet the rigors of daily use and they are equipped with the most desired functionality. That is where the price point comes in to play. Same product development expense for 1/1000th the sales throughput. Ergo, it ends up in the semi-pro leagues or above.

Find a cheap camcorder.

Another great source for basic info is Videomaker magazine. Perfect for the novice producer just setting out. But like all publications, you have to be careful of their reviews. If they take a centrefold display ad for a consumer video product, they will have a hard time being objective when it comes time to list the pros and cons.

Requesting advice on deck
 

I just purchased a used Sony DSR 30 deck and I'm thinking concerned with a few things, mainly the playback. The audio is patchy at best and the video is pretty spotty as well. I just purchased a DV cleaning cassette (dry) and will see if that fixes it. The seller said they'd fix it under warranty for 30 days, but I'm in Colorado and they're in Florida, so there's shipping time and costs to worry about. The seller said it was in good working condition in their ad, yet it's clearly in need of some maintenance so I'm not so keen on sending it back "to fix." Now if they were taking it back for a full 100% refund, that might be different.

I guess I'm looking for some seasoned editors and/ or equipment techs who are familiar with pro level decks for some sound advice. The unit is rather beat up and I have no idea of knowing how to read the hours on it.

1. If the drums/ or heads or whatever they're called are worn out, any idea of a ballpark on the replacement costs?

2. Any idea what it might cost to have a local shop give it a thorough maintenance checkup? Aligning the heads as needed, cleaning the tape path, etc.

3. Is there a way to make it display the hours on it?

4. Anyone in the Denver area know any reputable electronics repair places that specialize in VTRs?

5. When cleaning it with a cleaning cassette, should I use DVCam cleaner or just a mini DV cleaner, or both? My camera is a mini DV (Canon Optura 40) so I only have mini DV media.

6. In a sony tech doc it says to clean it with both a dry cassette and a cleaning kit every so often. I can't seem to find the cleaning kit they speak of, even online.

Hi Eric,

There is only *one* place to send it for repairs and service, and that's the Sony factory service center in Atlanta.

Chris,
Are you referring to BackPorch? Didn't the Sony facility in Norcross close a few years ago? If you're talking about BackPorch, have you had any business dealings with them? Are they good folks?

Buying a deck.
 

I'm looking at decks, they all cost upwards of 1,000 dollars and I can't help but freak out about that price. I could buy a camera for that much! So can anyone give me information about an AFFORDABLE way of capturing footage? I plan on buying a DVC30 in the future if that means anything.
So should I buy a panasonic to capture with? I'm just afraid because I had a cheap cam' from SHARP (which I realise - probably wasn't a good buy) and the firewire blew out on it. What are the chances of something like this happening on a 200-300 dollar cam' from Panasonic?

give me the news guys. Should I go the cam route or get a deck. or buy a used deck if possible.

If you want a deck and don't wish to break your budget at this time, consider one of JVC's dual-deck DV/S-VHS models. I've had their HR-DVS3U for a year and it has performed faultlessly. It cost $700. It's a big, solid unit and even has a cooling fan (so quiet, I didn't even know it was there for the first 6 months). They also have a pro model that costs a couple hundred more and it has the added feature of playing back DVCAM recordings. It doesn't have an EP mode on the S-VHS side, as the DVS3U does.

You can buy a cheapo DV camcorder for less, to be a playback machine, but as you described, they can be more easily worn out.