Any compatibility issues between Sony & Canon
 

Just wondering if you guys with Canons have noticed any compatibility issues with tapes recorded in standard def on an A1 for example and then played on Sony decks. How about any issues with Sony recordings played on Canon equipment?

DV is DV. There are very rare problems with compatibility (such as when the recording is done in LP mode - heaven forbid). But, DV recorded on an A1 should play back on any DV or HDV camera of any make or model.

Eric, the reason I ask is that a buddy claims he has issues playing Sony recorded DV on his Canon deck. It could be nothing more than a tracking issue with either unit, but I do recall having the same issue playing a VX2000 recording on my HV20.

There's something wrong, then. Either with the camera, deck, or he recorded in LP mode. I use my Canon HV30 to play back all sorts of DV tapes from Panasonic, JVC, Sony and other makes. Similarly, I've got a cheap little Panasonic DV camera, about 4 years old, that does as well with other cameras' tapes. Things used to be more erratic between devices, so that may explain why an old model like your VX2000 might have caused issues with a newer camera like the HV20.

Or the Sony tape could have been recorded DVCAM instead of DV.

This is a somewhat frequent problem, not having to do with format: DV is DV--but with how the playback/record head tracks relative to the machine it was taped on.

I have recorded material on my A1 in SD and played it back on a Sony VX2100 for capture and no problems. In fact it works beautifully in my case, just as it should. But it is not necessarily a given that I wouldn't have any issues.

For example I have used (or tried to use) a JVC deck at work with tapes made on Canon, Sony and Panasonic cams. The JVC very rarely played back Canon or Panny tapes cleanly, but usually did somewhat better with Sony -recorded tapes. We sent that deck in to get it serviced so it would work, but it came back no work performed, it was performing well within spec. Yet it could not play back tapes made on a Panasonic or Canon....

I have also had experience with Sony decks (GV1000) not playing back Panasonic-made tapes well at all, although it did OK usually, with Canon-recorded materials.

Because of this reliability in capture issue, I believe and experience has demonstrated that the most reliable method of capture is to use the cam it was recorded on. Then there should be no question that it will work.

Steve, your experiences seem to jive with mine as well as my friend. In our cases it seemed to not be an issue playing Canon tapes on a Sony deck, but the Canon didn't seem to track well with the Sony tapes. These were VX2000/2100 tapes played back on a Canon HV20. We both have similair equipment and have experienced the same issues. The Canons were fairly new when this was tried.

I agree that the best solution is to play back the tape with the cam that recorded it, but when you have a dedicated DV deck such as the Sony WV-DR7, you'd like to keep the wear on the cam to a minimum and feel confident in using the deck.

I might try using a tape that was recorded on an A1/A1s and see how it plays on the DR7.

I would use caution when trying to cross play DV tapes.

I had some standard DV material shot on a JVC and then attempted capture to the computer later using a Canon (GL-2). I tried three tapes and it would not work. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it destroyed all three tapes until trying the capture in the JVC later. That wedding was totally lost.

I suggest trying the initial capture with a tape which is expendable.

PS: Im tapeless now.

For what it's worth, I've had problems capturing DV Canon XH-A1 footage with a particular Sony Deck, always looks to have drops outs but it's not really dropping anything. My friend with the same deck plays back my footage 98% of the time, on occasion has a few pseudo dropouts. I play the same tape on my camcorder just to get the footage for a same day edit and comes out just fine.

If you shot DV in either 24F or 30F, then Sony decks will have an issue playing the tapes, as Canon's "F" progressive mode is proprietary.

I had a similar issue with my XH-A1 shooing DV in 30F and playing on a Sony DSR-2000A. I kept getting tape errors in Premiere during capture.

Solution? Capture from the XH-A1, or shoot in plain-old 60i.

From what I hear, the only deck that can play ANY format HDV is the Sony M35.

Forgot to mention this was all in DV 60i

I'm not sure this is entirely true. I've read on this forum & a couple of others that this applies only to Canon's frame modes in HDV... frame modes in SD shouldn't have this issue (theoretically) with other manufacturers decks.