Hii
 

My cheap JVC miniDV cam won't play miniDV tapes from a Sony TRV or a Sony Z1.
I just tried it and the JVC doesn't pick up the tape information.

Jimi

hii
 

I got it to work. I put a new tape in the JVC. Then i recorded a bit. Played back the tape (it did ok).
From there it played back all the tapes I had.
Jimi

I love my DSR-11. It is a great workhorse for mini-DV or DVCam capture in either NTSC or PAL. I use it to capture many mini-DV tapes each week, and also to back up my footage to mini-DV tapes and also to make DVCam masters on 3 hr. DVCam tapes for my movies. It can also be used for analog video pass through and I also use it to pass along the singal from the window of my editing app to the tv I use as a monitor.

I throw in another vote for the DSR-11. Even better, but discontinued, the DSR-20. It had meters on the front. Actual timecode display is a great thing on the front of ther deck. I really miss that, and the character or moniotr outpu. You could do TC window dubs to VHS for producers to pre-edit with.

Sean

Hey, it just needed some encouragement! :)

For what it's worth, I have used a cheapo (Canon old Elura) as a deck and it's fine. The only thing was it doesn't read tapes recorded in DV-CAM (I had to borrow a Sony TRV)...obviously it's not deigned to do that. Stephen may want to move up one model or two up the food chain simply for quality/reliability issues and not get the cheeziest-built loss-leader they make. if I were using the deck everyday, I'd want at least a DSR-11. But it's still nice having an "expendable" piece to knockaround that I wouldn't cry if someting happened to it.

Using the Canon ZR-200 as a capture/ playback deck
 

Hi,

I own the XL2 and I was wondering if I played back video I shot on the XL2 with a Canon ZR200 miniDV camcorder, will it play smoothly and without any dropouts or any other glitches?

I remember when I was in college and I had shot a Music Video using a Sony camcorder. I can't remember the model name, but it was one of those HUGE cameras that you see news broadcasters using. It was something along the lines of DSR250 I do believe that was the name. Yes, yes it was that camcorder. I just did a search on B&H photo.

It's this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

Anyway, when I shot the music video using that sony camcorder, I tried capturing the footage with my brother in laws Canon ZR-60 (I do believe they changed the numbers to 100-400, because I can clearly recall my old camcorder only having 2 digits).

Anyway, when I tried capturing that footage, I would get dropouts (if that's the proper term). The video would move slow, desycned audio and just didn't playback right.

It mainly just playedback and captured really slow. The video jumped around too.

My main question is, has anyone tried capturing video shot on an XL2 with the ZR-200? It's a cheap camera and I'd like to buy it as a capture deck, but I want to be assured that I wont get the same problems.

Thank you in advance.

-Roger

I think that you will find that the ZR-200 will work fine.

From what I have read, some lower end cameras do not handle all of the audio that the XL2 can provide, but the ZR-200 should not have this problem.

What you are wanting to do is fairly common. Those who can afford a dedicated deck may perfer the more expensive option.

You should not experience a loss of quality by using the ZR-200 as a capture deck, as long as you are using firewire as your input to your capture program.

I would, however, never record in LP mode. If you do, you may have to capture using the original camera that recorded it.

Mini DV Deck
 

Can anyone here in the editing crew point me in the right direction in acquiring a mini DV deck? I understand that digitizing to the computer from my camcorder on a regular basis puts exccesive wear on the transport head of the camcorder.

I've heard of using a cheapy mini Dv camcorder with the firewire interface as one solution.

What about just having a plain min Dv deck? What outfits offer this unit? Any ideas or experience with models, brands, pricing, etc.

Any input from the forum would be most helpful in my search.

Regards,

John

Mini Divi Decks = $$$$$$
 

Mini Dv decks are more expensive than most cheap DV cameras. I have been using a cheap WD 250 Sharp for 3 years to capture from my VX 2000, and have had no problems. All the cheap camera has to do is transfer the 1's and 0's. And you might have a good little family camera to boot...

Use cheaper camera
 

Thanks Chris, Yes I did notice that the decks were very expensive. Okay, I'll just search for a handy camera for the transfer to my pc. I appreciate your input.

I used a cheaper camera as a deck for quite a while with no problems. I just recently bit the bullet and purchased the Sony DSR-11. If you go through a bunch of tapes, it makes things so much easier. Yes, it's expensive compared to camcorders, but the fast rw/ff times, plus the ability to use full size DV and DVCAM tapes are a definite plus. I'm able to use 184 min DVCAM to do big project archiving if needed.

If you only use a few tapes a week, a camcorder should be fine. But if you do any type of volume, a deck is the way to go (IMO).

k, this is gonna be a REAL Dumb question. If the camera (Camera A) I am using to capture onto my computer is inferior to the camera (Camera B) I am shooting with, Am I going to be getting any loss of quality when it arrives in my computer?

No loss at all, it is just reading 1s & 0s.

Mike

In theory, no. The recording is already done, all you are doing is transferring the data. However, there may be other issues, as some folk have had issues playing tapes in other cameras.

If you're only using minidv tapes, Sony's GV-D1000 is a nice little portable unit.