Audio dropouts on DVCAM in PD-150 at DVinfo.net

Mike Carroll · May 5th, 2003, 08:48 AM

I posted the note earlier about playing back footage out of my SONY PD-150 and having the audio intermittently dropout when playing back and loading into my EMAC in Final Cut Pro.
I've done a number of tests and have narrowed it down to this:
This only happens when the camera is in DVCAM mode.
I've tested with a mini-DV tape in DV mode and the playback looking at the footage on the flipout screen and listening on headphones is perfect. Also loading up into the computer - perfect.
Then I sweitched the camera to DVCAM and put a DVCAM tape in, shot for 20 minutes, rewound -- and the sound would dropout - little split-second gaps every5 seconds or so. I'd rewind the tape and play it back and the sound would again drop out - but not in the same places! It is totally intermittent and random. Where there was an audio dropout once, the next time would be perfectly clear sound and an audio scip over some other area where before I heard clead audio.
What could cause this?
A local Sony Technician, who works on these all this time for his company, which owns & rents out a number of these cameras, has never experienced this. I would like to try to isolate the problem to tell him where to look.
I know the obvious response would be to only use the camera in mini-DV mode, which I plan to do. But I would like the camera to be in tip top working order nonetheless.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.

Mike Rehmus · May 5th, 2003, 12:21 PM

The dropout can be heard when listening to the tape as it plays back on the camera, right? If so, then it has to be a camera problem. But wow. DVCam handles sound differently from DV in that DVCam locks sound into the series, video/sound/video/sound whereas DV can easily do Video/video/video/sound/video/video/video/sound. Especially with Canon cameras I'm told.

If you are playing the tape into your editing system to listen to it, do you have your editing system set up for DVCam?

Mike Carroll · May 5th, 2003, 12:43 PM

Thanks for the note back!

When I am loading the tape it is taking in the sound exactly as it is playing out of the camera, with it's own independent and intermittent random audio dropout blips.

The computer [EMAC/Final Cut Pro] does not add or alter that. Yes, it does recognize the DVCAM.

Any thoughts of what could be producing this?

Did another test, right after the DVCAM failure, and the mini-DV playback and loading into computer is flawless.

Thanks.

Mike Rehmus · May 5th, 2003, 01:10 PM

Have you tried a fresh tape that has never been used?

Mike Carroll · May 5th, 2003, 04:31 PM

Yes, I have only used brand new Sony DVCAM tapes.

On the mini-DV tests I have used both new and second-time tapes, both successfull.

If you'd care to call, I'm at
home 916 454 3390
pager 916 590 4886 daytime

Mike Rehmus · May 5th, 2003, 06:53 PM

Just out of curiosity, Mike, have you Reset the camera?

Mike Carroll · May 5th, 2003, 07:03 PM

Yes. The Reset was the first thing I tried after discovering your site and reading many of the listings.

Unfortunately, it did not clear up the problem with DVCAM.

I can't figure it out. I got the camera for it's lens, audio controls, 32 bit audio and XLR inputs. I plan to shoot in mini-DV anyway. But I would like it all to be in working order.

Please! Keep the ideas / suggestions coming!

Mike Rehmus · May 5th, 2003, 07:58 PM

I'd guess, since the camera is out of warranty, you would be looking at an expensive trip to Sony.

Have you talked with the Sony phone rep about this issue? I cannot remember if I talked about that or not. The 150, falling under the Sony professional umbrella, has decent phone support. http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professional/info/contactbssc.html

Mike Carroll · May 5th, 2003, 11:11 PM

Thanks, I'll try them in the morning.

And thanks very much for your interest and notes!

Garret Ambrosio · May 6th, 2003, 01:42 AM

Mike I called Sony this afternnon and they have a flat rate refurbish plan for $550.00 for the DSR-PD150. Use Mike's link.

Mike Carroll · May 6th, 2003, 11:05 AM

Garret-
Thank you very much for the info on the Sony servicing. That was very thoughtful of you.

Garret Ambrosio · May 6th, 2003, 12:20 PM

No problem Mike, I know this has been frustrating you for awhile now and this is why we come to these boards for assistance. To tell you the truth it was good knowledge for me as well since I get real paranoid about my possessions, I guess the saying is true that we don't own our possessions, they quickly start owning us. Anyway good luck.

Mike Rehmus · May 6th, 2003, 12:59 PM

Mike, you still want to call Sony and talk with them about this particular problem.

There are several reasons for this:

1. They may know of a solution you can implement.
2. They may know of the problem and have a No Cost repair policy for it.

You never know. Make certain they get a Sony engineer involved if the tech cannot help you.

Mike Carroll · May 8th, 2003, 04:46 PM

I'm giving up and shipping the camera to Sony for repair.

I had done days of testing with the camera - just in DV mode and the results were perfect. I whot whole tapes and played them back with perfect sound and loaded them into my computer, problem free.

Yesterday, with confidence, I was working on a documentary, shot 1 and 1/2 tapes. During a break I checked the playback audio and tape one was perfect. BUT tape two had audio dropouts - and this was in DV mode, which I had been testing for days with complete success.

I wrapeed shooting for the day and dashed home to check out the audio on my TRV 900. This time, for the first time, the audio dropouts were showing up on the 900's playback as well.

I immediately came to the conclusion that this could not continue and the camera, in its current state, was unreliable.

I went to the website you listed and called, spoke with a customer service rep, was promised that whatever problem I was having they could find and fix in 7-10 working days.

Also, I conferred with the local Sony technician and he agreed that Sony was probably the best and fasted solution. As a service tech for a rental/production house, he told me he had dealt with this Sony Service center before, always with outstanding results.

So, thanks to all of your kind assistance at this terrific site, I am heeding your advice and just this afternoon shipped the camera out via UPS. It should be in Georgia by Monday.

I'll keep you posted with the next chapter in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again to everybody who has take the time to respond to my pleas for help.

All the best, MIKE

Phil Mathews · May 8th, 2003, 07:38 PM

I thought I was developing some audio drop out problems with my 3 year old pd150. I shot a brand new Sony Excellence tape that had quite a few audio dropouts. I then did a test at home using another brand new Excellence tape and it had audio drop outs. I made note of the time code on a couple of the drop outs. I then re-recorded a short segment and the drop outs were at a different spot.

I had a wedding to shoot that weekend, so I used the pd150 as a video source and used another camera for the sound from the ceremony. Also recorded mini-disk audio from the church sound system. I used another brand new Excellence tape in the pd150 but just used the shotgun mic.

In checking the tape later, there is not a single audio drop out on the tape. I just don't understand it. I'm thinking I had a couple of defective new tapes. It is just too weird to figure out. I have done some more testing this week and the audio drop outs have stopped. I even put back in one of the "defective" tapes and re-recorded and sure enough, there are audio dropouts.

You may indeed have camera problems but it might possibly be tape related. What kind of tape are you using?

May 5th, 2003, 08:48 AM	#1
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Audio dropouts on DVCAM in PD-150 I posted the note earlier about playing back footage out of my SONY PD-150 and having the audio intermittently dropout when playing back and loading into my EMAC in Final Cut Pro. I've done a number of tests and have narrowed it down to this: This only happens when the camera is in DVCAM mode. I've tested with a mini-DV tape in DV mode and the playback looking at the footage on the flipout screen and listening on headphones is perfect. Also loading up into the computer - perfect. Then I sweitched the camera to DVCAM and put a DVCAM tape in, shot for 20 minutes, rewound -- and the sound would dropout - little split-second gaps every5 seconds or so. I'd rewind the tape and play it back and the sound would again drop out - but not in the same places! It is totally intermittent and random. Where there was an audio dropout once, the next time would be perfectly clear sound and an audio scip over some other area where before I heard clead audio. What could cause this? A local Sony Technician, who works on these all this time for his company, which owns & rents out a number of these cameras, has never experienced this. I would like to try to isolate the problem to tell him where to look. I know the obvious response would be to only use the camera in mini-DV mode, which I plan to do. But I would like the camera to be in tip top working order nonetheless. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 5th, 2003, 12:21 PM	#2
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	The dropout can be heard when listening to the tape as it plays back on the camera, right? If so, then it has to be a camera problem. But wow. DVCam handles sound differently from DV in that DVCam locks sound into the series, video/sound/video/sound whereas DV can easily do Video/video/video/sound/video/video/video/sound. Especially with Canon cameras I'm told. If you are playing the tape into your editing system to listen to it, do you have your editing system set up for DVCam? __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 5th, 2003, 12:43 PM	#3
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Thanks for the note back! When I am loading the tape it is taking in the sound exactly as it is playing out of the camera, with it's own independent and intermittent random audio dropout blips. The computer [EMAC/Final Cut Pro] does not add or alter that. Yes, it does recognize the DVCAM. Any thoughts of what could be producing this? Did another test, right after the DVCAM failure, and the mini-DV playback and loading into computer is flawless. Thanks. __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 5th, 2003, 01:10 PM	#4
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Have you tried a fresh tape that has never been used? __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 5th, 2003, 04:31 PM	#5
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Yes, I have only used brand new Sony DVCAM tapes. On the mini-DV tests I have used both new and second-time tapes, both successfull. If you'd care to call, I'm at home 916 454 3390 pager 916 590 4886 daytime __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 5th, 2003, 06:53 PM	#6
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Just out of curiosity, Mike, have you Reset the camera? __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 5th, 2003, 07:03 PM	#7
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Yes. The Reset was the first thing I tried after discovering your site and reading many of the listings. Unfortunately, it did not clear up the problem with DVCAM. I can't figure it out. I got the camera for it's lens, audio controls, 32 bit audio and XLR inputs. I plan to shoot in mini-DV anyway. But I would like it all to be in working order. Please! Keep the ideas / suggestions coming! __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 5th, 2003, 07:58 PM	#8
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	I'd guess, since the camera is out of warranty, you would be looking at an expensive trip to Sony. Have you talked with the Sony phone rep about this issue? I cannot remember if I talked about that or not. The 150, falling under the Sony professional umbrella, has decent phone support. http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professional/info/contactbssc.html __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 5th, 2003, 11:11 PM	#9
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Thanks, I'll try them in the morning. And thanks very much for your interest and notes! __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 6th, 2003, 01:42 AM	#10
Garret Ambrosio Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vallejo, CA Posts: 263	Mike I called Sony this afternnon and they have a flat rate refurbish plan for $550.00 for the DSR-PD150. Use Mike's link. __________________ "USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." -David Letterman

May 6th, 2003, 11:05 AM	#11
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Garret- Thank you very much for the info on the Sony servicing. That was very thoughtful of you. __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 6th, 2003, 12:20 PM	#12
Garret Ambrosio Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vallejo, CA Posts: 263	No problem Mike, I know this has been frustrating you for awhile now and this is why we come to these boards for assistance. To tell you the truth it was good knowledge for me as well since I get real paranoid about my possessions, I guess the saying is true that we don't own our possessions, they quickly start owning us. Anyway good luck. __________________ "USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." -David Letterman

May 6th, 2003, 12:59 PM	#13
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Mike, you still want to call Sony and talk with them about this particular problem. There are several reasons for this: 1. They may know of a solution you can implement. 2. They may know of the problem and have a No Cost repair policy for it. You never know. Make certain they get a Sony engineer involved if the tech cannot help you. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

May 8th, 2003, 04:46 PM	#14
Mike Carroll New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 16	Taking your advice - shipping it to Sony I'm giving up and shipping the camera to Sony for repair. I had done days of testing with the camera - just in DV mode and the results were perfect. I whot whole tapes and played them back with perfect sound and loaded them into my computer, problem free. Yesterday, with confidence, I was working on a documentary, shot 1 and 1/2 tapes. During a break I checked the playback audio and tape one was perfect. BUT tape two had audio dropouts - and this was in DV mode, which I had been testing for days with complete success. I wrapeed shooting for the day and dashed home to check out the audio on my TRV 900. This time, for the first time, the audio dropouts were showing up on the 900's playback as well. I immediately came to the conclusion that this could not continue and the camera, in its current state, was unreliable. I went to the website you listed and called, spoke with a customer service rep, was promised that whatever problem I was having they could find and fix in 7-10 working days. Also, I conferred with the local Sony technician and he agreed that Sony was probably the best and fasted solution. As a service tech for a rental/production house, he told me he had dealt with this Sony Service center before, always with outstanding results. So, thanks to all of your kind assistance at this terrific site, I am heeding your advice and just this afternoon shipped the camera out via UPS. It should be in Georgia by Monday. I'll keep you posted with the next chapter in a couple of weeks. Thanks again to everybody who has take the time to respond to my pleas for help. All the best, MIKE __________________ Mike Carroll Sacramento, CA

May 8th, 2003, 07:38 PM	#15
Phil Mathews New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 8	I thought I was developing some audio drop out problems with my 3 year old pd150. I shot a brand new Sony Excellence tape that had quite a few audio dropouts. I then did a test at home using another brand new Excellence tape and it had audio drop outs. I made note of the time code on a couple of the drop outs. I then re-recorded a short segment and the drop outs were at a different spot. I had a wedding to shoot that weekend, so I used the pd150 as a video source and used another camera for the sound from the ceremony. Also recorded mini-disk audio from the church sound system. I used another brand new Excellence tape in the pd150 but just used the shotgun mic. In checking the tape later, there is not a single audio drop out on the tape. I just don't understand it. I'm thinking I had a couple of defective new tapes. It is just too weird to figure out. I have done some more testing this week and the audio drop outs have stopped. I even put back in one of the "defective" tapes and re-recorded and sure enough, there are audio dropouts. You may indeed have camera problems but it might possibly be tape related. What kind of tape are you using?