Striping A New Tape?
 

Greetings to all...

I have borrowed a Sony 2000 to record a wedding... DO I have to stripe the tape before using it to enable a batch import of various desired clips on a firewire system?

if so... is that only for all tapes? including the e-memory or is it just for the simple 4 for $20 buck tapes?

annnnnnnddd what is the best flavor of tape to use in the SONY DCR VX2000?

Skater

Ask the person you borrowed it from what tape they use. Mixing tape brands can cause problems.

As long as you don't create a gap in the video (usually by removing and reinstalling the tape or reviewing the tape and not leaving a prerecorded portion of the video on the heads) you don't need to stripe the tape.

The VX-2000, like most timecode camcorders, will continue an existing time code stream as long as it can read the time code when placed into record mode. Every camcorder actually backs the tape up just a bit (IIRC) so that timecode really is continuous when using a blank tape.

I always shoot a few more seconds beyond the cutoff point of a scene just so I have some throw-away footage to sacrifice when reviewing or reloading the tape.

I have found that some cameras will start a new timecode after shutting down. To avoid this, either leave it on until the tape is finished, or as Mike said, shoot a little more and then rewind a little before the next shot. It saves an hour or so of recording, and that much more wear.
Keith

Stripping a tape is a hold over from the old analog tape to tape method of insert editing. If your are not preparing edit masters for analog edits, it is a waste of time and energy. Just fast forward and rewind the tape before use.

Jeff

From�@my experience it all depends on what you plan to capture the video with. My DV500 for example, has all kinds of problems if you don't stripe the tape first with a continous time code.

People will say you don't have to stripe you tape, you just use the rec review function on the camera, and in theory this is true. In practise however, especially when shooting weddings, you don't always have time to do this. So to answer your question, just to be safe, I'd stripe the tape to save myself from possible headaches in post.

striping / Time codes
 

GREAT NEWS!!! THANKS..

I striped the tape just in case.. So what I am gleaning from this thread and all your replies isssssssssssss... the striping of a tape is just for the older ANALOG tapes. and since the Sony 2000 is a mini DV I do not need to go through this process?

also what I think is being said isssss... that if you over shoot (time wise) your subject, then if you happen to remove your tape for some reason and record on another tape for a while... if you simply re-installl the first tape and REWIND a bit (a second or two) the old time code is quickly picked back up, calculated, and then posted back out right where the last couple of frames that were over shot and continued from there?

do I have it right?

Skater

The stripping of tapes won't hurt anything. It just puts extra wear and tear on the machine you use to stripe the tapes. Inside the camcorder, before any other heads in the machine is the full erase head. It is a none rotating, stationary head that erases the entire width of tape before anything can be recorded to tape. This ensures a clean tape with no cross talk. Most cameras do back space when they are placed in pause. This allows the camera to get up to speed and jam sync the existing time code when you start recording again. There are no read or pre-read heads that could read the old stripped time code.

Jeff

Many higher-end cameras and VCRs have Flying Erase Heads that rotate on the drum. These units can start recording over older recordings without creating a glitch.

The stationary heads do provide a glitch.

I don't remember seeing any DV cameras that create glitches when re-recording tape. So I believe them all to be outfitted with Flying Erase Heads.

I used to think that stripping was a pain...as stated sometimes when you shut the camera off....the timecode will change. I now use a SW tool caled ScenalyzerLive. I don't worry about stripping the tape as this application will detect the change and capture with no problems.

You can download a free copy to check out and if you like it it's about 33.00 US. It works great with both my DV Camera's and my JVC Deck. No need to strip, no more !!!

www.scenalyzer.com

Most if not all camcorders have both stationary full erase heads and rotating flying erase heads. Cheap, low end VHS-C camcorders may leave off the flying erase heads. Any camcorder or VCR that does insert edits must have a flying erase head. The flying erase heads makes for clean in and out points in your edits. The full erase head leaves a moire pattern (rainbow, shimmering vertical lines) when edits are made or the record mode is paused and started.

Jeff