Frame Accurate dub with 2 XL H1
 

Is it possible to make master dubs with no quality loss and identical TC on both tapes with 2 XL H1? I tried through mini 1394 Cam A to mini 1394 Cam B, VCR mode, all good but I couldn’t have TC transferred. With BNC to BNC, picture yes, TC no. Anyone?

Thanks

No guarantees that this will work but you might try slaving the timecode on the second camera to the first during the copying process.

To slave the second camera in camera mode is doable but it doesn't respond at all in its vcr or external mode.

Dear Vitold,

Are you saying that one can not cable two XL H1's together and dub a tape from one to another?

I have not tested this. Since this was a standard feature on the Xl1s, I have assumed that one could do this with two XL H1's.

The Xl H1 manual is not clear on this functionality. It appears that it is possible, page 110.

The manual does mention that the playback standard must be in "Auto" to record from the firewire port.

Sorry, but I do not have access to a second XL H1 to test this myself.

With 2 XL1s's one could dup a tape, but the timecode was regenerated on the dup. Of course, for many people, this is a good thing so that there are no timecode breaks on the dup even if there are duplicated timecodes or a break on the timecode on the original.

It is easy to do tape to tape over fire wire, but unfortunately the result is the same if 2 xl1's are used. The new TC is generated as the dub is made, which works for a lot of people but not for my next project. Batch capturing would be close to impossible in case dub-master have to be used instead of the MASTERS.

I was hoping that I might be able to send TC from Cam A to Cam B, what I usually do when I am synching 2 cameras, but in VCR mode. The main reason for all this hustle is that on one of the master tapes glitches appeared every few seconds. A lot of reasons for that, but I am sure it was the storage of the tapes. In order to eliminate this issue the new tape stock is used; dubs are made before the rest of our originals show any devastating signs, and all the tapes are placed in low humidity and static-free environment, as much as we can afford.

Dear Vitold.

Thank you for the information on dubbing the tapes.

Did you have a cable from Timecode Out on the Master XL H1 into the Timecode In on the Slave XL H1 and the Slave XL H1 setup for receiving the timecode?

Sorry, but I do not currently have two XL H1s to perform this test.

I think it will be very beneficial if we know if obtaining an exact duplicate of a time is possible or not.

That’s exactly what I was trying to do, but the camera B didn’t respond to TC send form camera A, both in VCR mode. I will play around in the next few days and maybe something will work but for now it doesn’t seem to be very promising.

Dear Vitold,

Thank you for the update.

Maybe a call to Canon Technical Support would help.

I have just talked to Canon technician and they confirmed after a day of the “investigation” that it is not possible yet. It would a good feature.

Dear Vitold,

Thanks for the update.