XHA1 & Time Code
 

It seems like i've been reading a lot of threads that involve time code. If you a tape with broken time code is it that big of a deal? Will you still have usable footage that can be captured?

Yes. But you are likely to find the same time code two or more times on the same tape, so you might have a slight problem relocating something if you've just made a note of the time code. ie was it at the first 00:00:05:20 or the second time it came round.

Time code is most likely to "break" if you rewind your tape, watch the video, and then leave a gap before the next clip you film. Even the tiniest gap will have that effect.

there are two ways to prevent time code breaks on the tape:

1) Never take the tape out untill it is full, and if you rewind the tape return to the end with end search before you start recording again.

2) "Format" the tape by recording something on it without stopping. It really does not matter what you record, but for obvious reasons most people prefer to record black (lens cap on and max underexposure) without sound (no mic and rec level at zero). When you reuse the tape the original timecode remains and you can start and stop and leave gaps and still have continuous code.