Timecode problem
 

I have a panny AG-DVC7.

It's only redeeming quality is the shoulder mountability, other than that it's unfortunately plauged with problems. The most significant of which being it's constant dropouts, glitches, and 5 or 6 timecode resets per tape.

I do not, repeat, not, check the gate during shooting. I do not rewind the tape and look at it while still shooting. I would like to, but I don't.

I've heard of "scoring the tape" to solve the timecode problem, as in recording it once, then rewinding and recording over that. Is this a good idea?

After the first 20 tapes it told me I needed to clean the heads. I bought a head cleaner and did so. Now it tells me to clean every 5 tapes, and, not surprisingly, I'm in constant fear because of this problem.

The thing is, it's only got about 60 hours on it. I really don't think the heads are shot unless it's really a piece of crap, any hints?

-Alex

Alex,

The scoring you are talking about is called "Blacking" a tape, that is recording on the whole tape with the cap on. I doubt this will help you.

What brand of tapes are you using? The problems you are having are not acceptable.

Mike

Alex:

When you refer to "scoring" tapes, what you are describing is "striping". This is a technique used on linear edit systems that puts a continuous run of time code on the master before editing begins. This allows the editing system to do "insert edits", whereby the system only inserts video and/or audio frames, and the time code stays unbroken.

This technique is never used on cameras, because the tape crosses an erase head before going over the record heads. Everything on a pre-recorded tape is erased in order to make sure the recorded signal is as good as possible.

Dropouts are caused by:

Bad tapes...the oxided falls off the mylar backing. Try changing tapes.

Dirty tape path...dust particles on guides or other parts of the tape path are picked up by the tape, and interfere with the heads. Have you been shooting in any dusty or dirty environments? You might want to try cleaning out the entire tape path, not just using a cleaning tape.

The wrong tape...Some cameras work better with certain types of tape forumlations. This is particularly true with DV/HDV. Again, you might try some different tape brands.

Flaws in the heads....if none of the above works, I would have your camera checked by a service center. If you only have 60 hours on it, it is probably still under warranty. The type of problems you are having are not normal with any manufacturer of decent reputation. Panasonic makes good stuff, and they usually stand behind it.

Mark

Thanks for the help. I'll try switching tapes.

Just for the record...
So I am apparently referring to two things, blacking, and stripping, instead of scoring. At least they all have the same number of syllables.