Help! Problems playing DVCAM tape in DVX100a:
 

I have 4 Sony DVCAM tapes and when I try to play them in my DVX100a the playback is visible but it's very very choppy

Is there a setting Im missing? Is there issues with playing DVCAM tapes back in the DVX I don;t know about?

Any help is appreciated! The heads are clean - I just tried 3 other DV tapes to make sure all was smooth - thx in advance!

I tested dvcam playback on my DVX100 and it worked. I can't imagine that the DVX100A wouldn't work.

What you're describing does sound like a tape incompatibility, or dirty heads. If you can't get it to work, you may have to resort to dubbing the tapes through firewire to your DVX. It should work though...

is it possible that the heads are dirty even if it plays all other DV tapes ok?

That doesn't sound likely. Dirty heads should be affecting all tapes equally.

Hi guys,

Just a little of my experience...

I keep Sony tapes out of my DVX100A, not that theres any problem with Sony tape or any other brand of pro grade tape. The problems I have encountered seem directly related to incompatabilities in the tape lubrication, and formulation, ie different brands of tape switched in and out of the same camera can cause erratic performance, and head clogs. I have encountered this problem with betacams, and MiniDV seems especially touchy, in my experience. The problem was resolved instantly in both cases by using only one brand of tape exclusivley. Which brand, I dont think matters as long as you start with clean heads and use a high quality tape stock.

Michael Baker wrote:

"Is there a setting Im missing? Is there issues with playing DVCAM tapes back in the DVX I don;t know about?"

Were the tapes recorded in SP or EP mode? I believe I read that DVCam tapes recorded in EP mode will not play in the DVX100A.

If that is true, I don't know if that results in choppy playback or if the tapes aren't visible at all.

DVCAM doesn't have different speeds. It only runs at one speed.

So that shouldn't be the problem...

Hmm. First let's make shure we are talking about the same thing. There basically only one kind of DV tape. It can have varying quality, it can have a different lubricant, it can be from a different manufacterer and so forth. If you have a Sony Branded DVCAM tape it can hold DV EP, SP or SLP content. One thing is the tape, and another thing alltogether is the track pitch at which it was recorded.

So, if you are trying to play a tape in a DVX100A and it plays back choppy, it might be a DVCAM branded tape that was recorded with EP track pitch. You will have trouble playing that tape on most pro or semi-pro equipment. You might even have trouble playing that on a Handycam that has EP support. For the best results, you need to play the tape from exactly the same camera that was used to record it.