Tape Error!
 

Hi, I was doing a 2 hour shoot yesterday. (Just DV on my HD-111E)

I was just looking at the tapes and it seams it is all mest up. There is pixel every 2 or 3 sec. and a audio dropout.

I am using a Sony dv premium ME DVM60 Has anybody had this problem.

not sure if it will fix your problem, but nearly everything i've read recommends using genuine JVC tape stock with the JVC cams, or at the very least, not using different brands of tape (such as shooting with jvc, then shooting with sony, then back to jvc or panasonic etc). have you run the same brand of tape?

I've heard never to use Sony tapes with JVC. Something about luricants.

My jvc's love the sony lube.

Dropouts have been pretty rare. I did manage to get some bad sony tapes in the first weeks that I received the hd100's. To make matters worse, I bought a few jvc prohd tapes that produced footage with recurring dropouts.

It might be wise to try some new tape and see if the problem still exists.

I have over a hundred drum hours on one of my hd100s and it has only touched the $3 sony premium tapes.

Have any of you used a cleaning-tape with the HD camcorder. Is it safe.?

This happened to me recently. I only use the JVC HD tapes.

In my case, it was apparently a bad tape. I put in a different tape, and recorded 5 minutes with no problem. Hopefully that's the only thing that happened to you.

I have used the JVC head cleaning tape, which I use whenever I get the message 'Clean the Heads'. Camera has been working great all along.

There is more to the story of compatibility than just proprietary lubricants. Different manufacturers also use different signal-to-noise ratios calibrated for their heads and their stock. It is always best to match the camera manufacterer to the tape stock.

I can't even count the amount of times we've discussed this in the forum, but for some reason people keep using Sony stock. Yes, there will be a few "lucky" people who are able to use Sony stock without problems, and no, using JVC stock will not guarantee dropout free recording, but time and time again we hear of dropouts and 90% of those reports happen when using Sony stock. Just search this forum for the keyword 'dropout' to see for yourself!

I stick with the JVC ProHD Tapes personally but I've heard several people who swear by the most expensive Sony HDV tapes. A dropout is allegedly non-existent with these tapes.

I have had occasional dropouts on the ProHD tapes.

Tim,

I respectufully disagree. I had absolutely no problems with Sony high end HDV tapes (PHDVM-63DM). They are the best, no dropouts whatsoever. As long as one doesn't switch tapes back and forth, all should be fine.

My success ratio with the sony stock has been around 95%. Trust me, I am not some sony $3 tape fan boy :)

I have no reason to switch to jvc stock because the sony tapes EXCEED my expectations as it is.

Do people ever run into dropouts with the jvc stock? I have only used 5 of the jvc prohd tapes and I had two with dropouts but the other three worked just fine.

This is just an assumption but maybe the reason why more people are reporting issues with the sony tape is because it is more popular then jvc stock? I have no clue if it is or not but it seems like I run into more people who use the sony tape. That is why I use sony tape in the first place, because someone recommended them to me. They can also be bought at walmart.

I don't think I am "lucky". I have two jvc's and they both work very well with the sony premium tape.

Jiri and Jonathan,

Like I said in my post, "there will be a few "lucky" people who are able to use Sony stock without problems, and no, using JVC stock will not guarantee dropout free recording." I am in no way denying that there are Sony stock success stories, but the statistics on this forum tell a different story. Search the posts over the past year and a half and you will see what I mean.

And yes, mixing tape brands is a BIG no no. I forgot to mention that earlier. Mixing lubricants can cause huge problems, and really gum up the heads - regardless of the camera used.

The bottom line is that the "safest" route is to use the specific tape stock recommended by the manufacterer in the user guide. That means JVC Pro or ProHD stock in a JVC ProHD camera, Panasonic MQ in a Panasonic DVX, and Sony 'Reds' in a Sony HDV camera. AND DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR HEADS every once in awhile.

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again, "Fay ce que vouldras,"¹ but if you want my recommendation, it is "don't mix and match" or you're just playing with fire. Do I have enough catch-phrases in that sentence? ;)

Historic Trivia Time:
¹"Fay ce que vouldras" translates into "Do What Thou Wilt" from the writings of François Rabelais. The motto was later adopted by Sir Frances Dashwood when he started what was to become known as the 'Hellfire Club.'

JVC stock
 

I used a couple of cheap "grocery store" quality JVC tapes out of necessity and was burned. The picture was fine but every 5 seconds or so, the audio dropped out. I didn't find out until after the shoot.
When I did find out, I tested the cheap tapes with a JVC Pro HD tape and mid level Panasonic tape. With the cheap JVC's I was able to recreate the terrible drop out on just bars and tone. Both the Pro HD tape and the Panasonic tape seemed fine.

Stay away from low grade JVC tapes.

I just had something very similar (sounds identical actually) happen to me.

I just spoke to my JVC dealer, who suggested running the JVC head cleaning tape.

I posted more details about my particular problem on this forum, if interested.

Tim, I use this tape always, and never experienced drop-out Panasonic AY-DVM63AMQ. What do you think of this tape?

Thanks

My HD100E suffered terribly from drop out with any tape other than ProHD when shooting 25p. Shooting 30p was impossible. A quick firmware update from JVC did the trick. Bye, bye drop out.

Got drop out, get a firmware update. That is all.