mini DV.... anyone a genius?

[MikeHedge]

so... a few miniDV tapes have become corrupted...

any solution to this striping problem....?

sometimes the timestamp date info is missing,

sometimes the sound is gone.... and now I have these colored or black stripes through all the footage.

anyone know if this can be fixed at all?

or how this happens?

 

[Jon Carr]

dirty heads or the heads might be going

 

[Kenneth Fisher]

Try capturing from a different deck. Then you will know if it is the tapes or the heads as pointed out above.

 

[dino g]

if you have a sony camera, use sony tape, panasonic - panasonic tape...these tapes are not made of the same materials and coatings and if you mix and match them over time..this is one of the problems you will have.

 

[Craig Parkes]

Looks to me like dirty heads as well. Definitely need to try playback in other decks and/or clean the heads on the machine you are using to rule out it's not just a dirty head issue.

 

[MikeHedge]

thanks guys!. Yep Sony tapes on Sony cameras...

or in this case... these are sony tapes that were shot on a Canon ZR500 (the only brand used in that camera)

I have tried playing back these tapes in several cameras... ZR500 a ZR800 a ZR900 and my Sony VX2100

 

[Ivan G]

I would still try a deck for playback. I've had this problem as well and my dsr45 was able to playback better although not all the footage was recoverd.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Just piling on to the suggestion that you get a deck instead of trying to play back from camera.

Ideally a DV editing deck, although DVCAM or DVCPRO decks might read the tape out well as well.

 

[MikeHedge]

ok. so a deck. gotcha. thanks. anyone ever use a JVC? VS30U?

 

[NateWeaver]

In addition, if you can get your hands on the very same camera it was shot on, you have a better chance as well.

Sometimes the heads on a camera will be misaligned in such a way that only that same misaligned head will be able to read fully.

 

[MikeHedge]

so... back and forth between a few cameras and the deck I have here.... and stilll can't change the stripes... every so often part of a certain frame gets stuck in the stripes... making them colorful....

any post production ideas for how to use this kind of footage as if it was done on purpose?

like maybe sorta a subliminal message where I show a nice photo in the stripes area by using the black stripes as a mask...

 

[Aleksandar Colancevski]

Sems to me you recorded DVCAM formated (recorded) tapes on DV camera.
Well the case is that you formated timecode on 15 micrometer track and DV records on 10 micrometer track. In that case you cannot do anything. Your material is recorded as you see it.

 

[Aleksandar Colancevski]

By the way, try Sony deck, JVC don't have good history of behaving nice. (I am trying to use gentle words, because my friend is dealer of JVC pro equipment) )

 

[MikeHedge]

ya. not a fan of the JVC. anyone want to buy it.... the Canon ZR800 which is nearly the same as the camera I used (Canon ZR500) plays back the best...

 

[Vince K]

Sems to me you recorded DVCAM formated (recorded) tapes on DV camera.
Well the case is that you formated timecode on 15 micrometer track and DV records on 10 micrometer track. In that case you cannot do anything. Your material is recorded as you see it.

I have to agree with this...I've seen it a hundred times...and watched many-a-client's head explode when they realize a large portion of their project is toast and has to be re-shot... :badputer:

 

[MikeHedge]

well the tape is a $6 Sony Premium tape recorded on a ZR500 (not DVCAM....)

I will see if I can head to a place with a few more deck choices...

 

[Craig Parkes]

well the tape is a $6 Sony Premium tape recorded on a ZR500 (not DVCAM....)

I will see if I can head to a place with a few more deck choices...

If it's misaligned heads then definitely the original camera is the best option, next would be a deck.

I remember (when trying to help someone else with a similar issue) coming across a website of a company who specialized in this sort of thing, and they had a custom modified deck that would allow them to vary the head pitch to try and get it aligned to salvage such footage.

So a search of the internet might reveal them (can't remember what they where called sorry) although I imagine retrieval will be an expensive proposition that comes with no guarantees.

 

[Craig Parkes]

Oh, another thought - I know you said it was recorded on a ZR500 which I believe is NTSC only, but there's no chance that it is a PAL recording is there... I have seem similar artifacting on PAL tapes played back on NTSC and vice versa ?

 

[Alan Skinner]

I have shot a lot of DV tape. If you say the tapes have become corrupted, then I guess that means they use to look ok which means it is not a format problem. I am with the rest who suggest you try original camera (due to possible misalignment) or go to a good deck.

Sony DSR11 DVCAM deck always gave me good results.

Good luck!

If you know someone who is good with equipment, you could try to adjust playback heads to line up with out of alignment recording. Just a thought.....

 

[NateWeaver]

If it's misaligned heads then definitely the original camera is the best option, next would be a deck.

I remember (when trying to help someone else with a similar issue) coming across a website of a company who specialized in this sort of thing, and they had a custom modified deck that would allow them to vary the head pitch to try and get it aligned to salvage such footage.

Quoted for truth