Setting Time Code
 

I am starting a documentary and shooting HDV. I am using Sony Premium HDV tapes that are 63 minutes. I will set the TC at the start of each tape tp 01, 02, 03, ect. When using 63 minute tapes do you just not go past 59 minutes to keep from the TC from rolling over to the next hour and waste the last 3 minutes of each tape. Any other tricks?
Thanks,
Ryan

Are these mini-dv tapes? They actually do the same running time as regular mini-dv, only in HD? That seems odd to me.

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The way it used to work in analog was you would start at 59:30 or 59:40 and then roll thirty seconds or 20 seconds of color bars and then start on the hour.

If you really get 63 minutes and don't want to go over too much, then start at 59:00 and run a minute of bars. I would only do this however if I was in total control of the situation. If you are documenting a live event then those extra three minutes could save from running out too early, in that case perhaps one needs as little as 15 seconds of bars at the front of the tape.

When you import your tapes into NLE, you can label them tape-1, tape-2 and that will coincide with the time-code starts, if you go over and need the footage, in theory you can check what the tape number is and that will tell you if it's a shot from the end of one tape or the beginning of another.

The tapes are the Sony DVMHD63 tapes. They work great. No drops as long as you don't use other kinds. Our budget didn't support 120 Sony Digital master tapes at $20 each. I get these wholesale at $8 each.

What camcorder are you using? If it supports User Bits and Free Run TC, you could set user bits to reflect date and tape number, and then use free run to reflect real time so you'll never have TC duplicated from one tape to the next. I believe the Z1, for example, supports both of these functions, and I think the Canon G1 and H1 do too.

If that isn't possible with your equipment, then tapes are cheap enough that you could just shoot less than 60 min per tape, as you suggested above.

BTW, there are reports of many people using the Costco TDKs for HDV with no problems, and these would run you less than about $2 per tape.