DV tape meltdown -- HELP!!! at DVinfo.net

Bill Edmunds · July 10th, 2005, 10:37 PM

Well, it finally happened: I had a massive equipment catastrophe. I recorded the ceremony of a beautiful wedding on my Z1u (in DV mode on a new Panasonic mini-DV tape), and the whole thing is filled with digital artifacts. No sound either (or, rather, very little sound). The odd part is that the artifacts don't seem consistent; they appear in different places if you play back the same part twice. If I play it back on slo-motion, it looks better (but still not perfect).

Regardless, I'm sick about this. I really need some help here. If you have had this happen to you, what was your solution? Even if you've never had this bad luck, what do you recommend?

Is the problem likely a bad tape, bad tape carriage threading, or bad luck?

Is there any way to salvage the footage? Is there a process that can effectively "extract" the video (or, even more importantly, the audio)?

Throw me a lifeline. Please!

Greg Boston · July 10th, 2005, 10:44 PM

Bill,

If you have any other device available such as a deck or another camcorder, try that first. Since you say the stuff doesn't always show up in the same place twice, I would run a head cleaner through it and try again. This is about your only hope at this point.

Good luck,

-gb-

Bill Edmunds · July 10th, 2005, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Bill,

If you have any other device available such as a deck or another camcorder, try that first. Since you say the stuff doesn't always show up in the same place twice, I would run a head cleaner through it and try again. This is about your only hope at this point.

Unfortunately, it plays lousy in everything I put it in.

Bill Edmunds · July 10th, 2005, 11:15 PM

In doing more experiments, I'm wondering if this is a timecode issue. The fact that it plays back differently every time, and and different decks, makes me wonder if the decks can't read it because of bad timecode. Again, it plays back much better in slo-motion, and the sound is there on some decks, not there on other decks. Is it possible to re-dub the timecode?

Phil Holder · July 11th, 2005, 03:47 AM

Hi Bill

Hate to say it but if you've had a tape record fault there's nothing you can do to get it back. By Z1u are you talking Sony HD cam? If it's a HD cam I'm not to familiar with these. Some video tape decks will let you re insert timecode but I would not think that this could be a timecode problem. What I would suggest is if you can get audio from a particular deck or camera then dub the audio to another tape. If it will play in slo-motion dub the vision of to another tape. Drop all this into an NLE speed up pics and resink the audio.
Good luck Phil

Glenn Chan · July 11th, 2005, 08:42 AM

You might have slightly more luck with a Sony DSR-1800 deck. It has automatic tracking and may get less dropouts.

Ron Evans · July 11th, 2005, 11:52 AM

Bill I expect you used Sony tape in the Z1 before using the Panasonic. The lubricant differences will create particles of the lubricant mixture that will either permanently damage the tape or create loose particles that will get moved around and create the problem in different places every time you play the tape. Error correction will try and recover for the apparent dropouts but in the end the audio will just go silent and the video will show defects. Playing fast or slow gives the error correction a better chance to correct. Fast forward and rewind the tape several times to try and clear the dirt particles and run a cleaning tape throught the Z1. IF you have used a mixture of tapes have the Z1 manually cleaned and then just use one tape brand especially do not mix Sony with anything else.

Ron Evans

July 10th, 2005, 10:37 PM	#1
Bill Edmunds Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Conway, NH Posts: 574	DV tape meltdown -- HELP!!! Well, it finally happened: I had a massive equipment catastrophe. I recorded the ceremony of a beautiful wedding on my Z1u (in DV mode on a new Panasonic mini-DV tape), and the whole thing is filled with digital artifacts. No sound either (or, rather, very little sound). The odd part is that the artifacts don't seem consistent; they appear in different places if you play back the same part twice. If I play it back on slo-motion, it looks better (but still not perfect). Regardless, I'm sick about this. I really need some help here. If you have had this happen to you, what was your solution? Even if you've never had this bad luck, what do you recommend? Is the problem likely a bad tape, bad tape carriage threading, or bad luck? Is there any way to salvage the footage? Is there a process that can effectively "extract" the video (or, even more importantly, the audio)? Throw me a lifeline. Please!

July 10th, 2005, 10:44 PM	#2
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Bill, If you have any other device available such as a deck or another camcorder, try that first. Since you say the stuff doesn't always show up in the same place twice, I would run a head cleaner through it and try again. This is about your only hope at this point. Good luck, -gb-

July 10th, 2005, 11:15 PM	#4
Bill Edmunds Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Conway, NH Posts: 574	In doing more experiments, I'm wondering if this is a timecode issue. The fact that it plays back differently every time, and and different decks, makes me wonder if the decks can't read it because of bad timecode. Again, it plays back much better in slo-motion, and the sound is there on some decks, not there on other decks. Is it possible to re-dub the timecode?

July 11th, 2005, 03:47 AM	#5
Phil Holder Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perth Western Australia Posts: 70	Hi Bill Hate to say it but if you've had a tape record fault there's nothing you can do to get it back. By Z1u are you talking Sony HD cam? If it's a HD cam I'm not to familiar with these. Some video tape decks will let you re insert timecode but I would not think that this could be a timecode problem. What I would suggest is if you can get audio from a particular deck or camera then dub the audio to another tape. If it will play in slo-motion dub the vision of to another tape. Drop all this into an NLE speed up pics and resink the audio. Good luck Phil

July 11th, 2005, 08:42 AM	#6
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	You might have slightly more luck with a Sony DSR-1800 deck. It has automatic tracking and may get less dropouts.

July 11th, 2005, 11:52 AM	#7
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,222	Bill I expect you used Sony tape in the Z1 before using the Panasonic. The lubricant differences will create particles of the lubricant mixture that will either permanently damage the tape or create loose particles that will get moved around and create the problem in different places every time you play the tape. Error correction will try and recover for the apparent dropouts but in the end the audio will just go silent and the video will show defects. Playing fast or slow gives the error correction a better chance to correct. Fast forward and rewind the tape several times to try and clear the dirt particles and run a cleaning tape throught the Z1. IF you have used a mixture of tapes have the Z1 manually cleaned and then just use one tape brand especially do not mix Sony with anything else. Ron Evans