Compatibility issue
 

I hope someone can help me to understand a compatibility problem between Sony and Canon.
I sent a raw tape to a place that is an "HDCam shop" (their words). They use Final Cut Pro as their editing software.
My raw tape was shot on a miniDV (Panasonic AY-HDVM63AMQ)tape in HDV format in an Canon XLH1. Settings were HDV, 29.97 fps, progressive, 1440x1080, pix aspect ratio 1.333.
They said that they were unable to play the tape on any of their decks, even miniDV ones. I suspect that all of their equipment is Sony. I know that Sony often has compatibility issues with other software, but is being unable to play a tape from another manufacturer's camcorder a recognized problem?

It's not necessarily a Sony/Canon thing, it's more likely a format issue.

If it's an "HDCam Shop" they may not have an HDV deck. HDV and HDCam are two different formats. I believe HDcam uses DigiBeta tapes, so it's unlikely a MiniDV tape would even fit in the machine.

Also you say the tape won't play in a MiniDV deck. If it's only DV, no HDV recording in any flavor will play in it, regardless of what brand the deck is, just as you can't get a B&W TV to play color no matter how you try to put the signal into it (even though the tapes are physically the same).

Finally, if you shot in 30p with the Canon you may have a problem playing back in an HDV device that doesn't do 30p. And Sony's version of 30p is different from Canon's.

One reason it's always better to shoot 60i... more compatible with more equipment. Sony and Canon both do 60i HDV the same way so you'd be fine if you'd done that... but the place would still have to have HDV equipment of some sort.

Common Problem
 

This is a common problem for me as well. Unfortunately, many shops I've tried to send my HDV footage to, don't have a HDV deck. And, unless their a Mac FCP shop, they can't handle the raw exported Quicktime file either. If they can handle standard def mini-DV tapes, I've learned to print SD back to tape from an HDV timeline but then their getting SD footage. Not to hijack this thread, but I'd love to hear how FCP/HDV editors are delivering to their clients?