Problems with Retro mode recordings

[Tyge Floyd]

I started with Kingston 133x cards when I bought my MRC-1 recorder last year and tried using the Retro mode in an effort to not miss some shots. My problem is that when I shoot in this mode the recorder does "back up" and capture several seconds of the shot before I hit the record button BUT then there is blue screen with no audio or video for a few frames between the "retro" shot the "live" shot. To be honest I blamed it on the cards I was using, thinking they were not fast enough to keep u with the recording. I never gave it another thought and have since then shot in Synchro mode.

I just recently upgraded to Kingston 266x cards and gave the Retro mode another try. No difference, still have the "gap" between the two scenes if you will. My recorder is running version 1.1 firmware and is mounted to a Canon XL-H1s camcorder.

I would really like to use the Retro mode but can't have the gap in footage and audio.
Any ideas as to what the problem may be with this mode? Or my cards?

Thanks.

[Tyge Floyd]

Anyone else having this issue?

[Steve Renouf]

I haven't come across this issue when coupled with the Z5. I would suspect it's something to do with the combination of Canon XL-H1s/MRC1K (I suspect that matching circuitry is needed in the camera - and that it's not just a MRC1K issue) as the camera may not be supplying the data to the MRC1K unit until you jit record.

[Tyge Floyd]

Thanks for the reply but I don't think that's what's happening.

The camera has to be supplying the information to the CF recorder or I would not be getting several seconds of "preroll" footage recorded, then a small gap or blank footage, then footage shot after the record button is pushed.

I do think you may be on to something when talking about the combination of my camera and this recorder as far as where the glitch is blame. Who knows? I wish I could get to the bottom of this problem. If it ended up being a hardware compatibility issue I could fix that easily. Thanks again for your reply.

I'm surprised there haven't been more responses to this issue. I feel like I'm the only one having this problem.

Let's go another route.
Is there anyone shooting this same setup? (Canon XL-H1s/Sony MRC1K)
If so, do you ever shoot in Retro mode?

[Adam Gold]

Are you recording to tape simultaneously or just with the MRC unit? And you're referring to CACHE mode on the MRC, yes?

[Tyge Floyd]

Yes, I record to tape simultaneously and yes I'm referring to CACHE mode. I think my mind is stuck on when I was using a FS-C unit which I believe had a RETRO mode.

[Adam Gold]

I wonder what would happen if you record only to the unit. Don't know if the Canon has REC CTRL MODE that you can set to EXT ONLY, but if not, try setting CAMLINK on the unit to OFF and not having any tape in the cam. Try using CACHE mode then. You'd need to start and stop recording with the buttons on the MRC unit rather than the cam.

Does the problem recur? If not, then my guess is it has something to do with the tape forming the GOP, which always causes a slight audio dropout even with the Sony cams, and results in clips not being able to be rejoined at that point, even with the Sony software. The audio dropout from the Sonys could be shown on Canons as a video dropout, which could cause the blue screens you are talking about.

Just a guess....

[Richard Hunter]

Tyge, I think nobody has been replying because you called it Retro Mode.

For cache mode, I get the same result that you describe. I record to tape and CF Card simultaneously. This is unusable for me so I switched back to normal operation.

Richard