miniDV deck with firewire
 

Can someone point me in the right direction for a miniDV deck that I can capture off. I can not keep using my xl1s...i think it is too much wear and tear.

Thanks

____________________
Jay Reilly
San Diego, CA
www.jayreilly.com
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You have numerous options here... for starters, if you're on a budget, consider using an inexpensive 1CCD consumer camcorder as a playback deck. For more info, see these threads:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=5727
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=5136
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=4102

Hope this helps,

I use a Canon ZR40 camcorder as a miniDV deck. It's considerably cheaper than a deck, and HEY, it's also a camcorder!

Panasonic DV1000 is a very sturdy full featured , pro quality deck. I think panny is clearing them out. Last I saw B&H was selling them for$900.

I'm not a very big Sony fan, but I have to say I'm very impressed with the Sony DSR-11. It's too pricey for many (under $2,000), but has some great features not found on many decks.

the JVS SR-VS series has a nice bang for your buck too....

it has both mini-dv and SVHS capabilities through firewire

the newest model, the SR-VS30 prices out for about $1300+
~Mike

Actually our sponsor Pro-Tape www.pro-tape.com, an authorized JVC dealer, has the SR-VS30 dual-deck for less than $1000. They also have my current favorite, the new BR-DV3000U, for about $1700. See http://pro.jvc.com/prof/Attributes/f...l_id=MDL101372 for details about this deck which takes both full-size and Mini-DV.

Chris, have you actually used the BR-DV3000U? I've been looking at possibly getting one of those but haven't heard any first hand feedback. It would appear to be a good alternative to the higher priced Sony models, but like most other prosumer equipment, there is no place locally to check one out.

I use both the Pansonic 1000 and 2000 and like them both. The 2000 has a jog/shuttle system which is very nice when searching and capturing. It also has a number of other seldom used features that make it a much more expensive deck.

The 1000 is a good deck for the money, plus it is much more compact than the 2000...just no jog/shuttle.

BR-DV3000U
 

Hi there,

I have first hand experience with this deck and it's not good. The problem is that it basicly only takes JVC tapes. Considering that I only use Sony tapes for my cameras and that a lot of clients use different brands makes this a bad choice. The deck has been cleaned for three times now and still gives me problems with sony's top line excelance tapes.

Hopes this helps.

BR-DV3000U
 

For Ed Frazier,

Actually no, I have not *used* this deck. I've only seen it. I worked a trade show booth with Pro Tape last year and JVC was right next door to us. I got to see the thing up close for a few days. When I said it was my favorite, I was referring to its feature set and price point, not any actual experience. Sorry if my comments were misleading in that regard.

Balster reports problems with Sony tapes on that deck. It will probably be okay with Panasonic tapes, since JVC and Panasonic are both subsidiaries of their parent company, Matsushita. But I don't know this for sure and am only making an assumption. If somebody has direct experience with the BR-DV3000U and Panasonic tapes, please speak up!

Well, as of today, i've ordered the JVC BR-DV3000U from B&H.

at $1499 + S&H and with a $100 gift card to B&H, i couldn't refuse. Once i get it, i'll post my experiences with it here.

~Mike Rinkunas

JVC BR-DV3000 deck problems
 

Does anybody in here use the 'DV3000 deck? I'm having terrible video dropouts which I originally thought were caused by my XL1. However, it appears to be something that the deck is doing. I've sent it back to JVC but they couldn't find anything wrong with the deck. They also said my tapes coming off of the XL1 appeared to be fine and that my XL1 was "in alignment". I spoke to a videographer this past weekend and he said that I am now the third person who he knows of that is having problems with this deck. Anybody else?

Dave

My buddy has one. Have you cleaned the heads? Mixed tapes? See here:

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : My buddy has one. Have you cleaned the heads? Mixed tapes? See here:

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm -->>>

Yes, I cleaned the heads when this first occurred, but it didn't help. No, I've never mixed tapes. The XL1 has only had Sony mini-DV tapes in it and that's what I'm trying to transfer with the JVC. Remember, this deck went back to JVC and they proclaimed it "up to spec". They also evaluated one of my XL1 tapes and said it was fine, too.

Just to add another data point here: I was able to get clean tranfers (no dropouts or pixel blocks) using the XL1 as the transport. Put that same tape into the JVC and "watch the fun".

dave