DVCAM Deck
 

I am looking at selling (trying to sell) my PD-170 soon, but I have a boatload of DV/DVCAM tape in my archives. I may or may not have need of them, but I don't want to keep the PD-170 just to ingest tape. Kinda like a destroyer ending its days as a target ship, y'know?

Any thoughts on a DV/DVCAM playback device... cheap?

You might be able to find an old DSR-11 deck pretty cheap or a used ....Man I spaced out here. I can't remember the number for the minideck they used to offer. I don't think it's around anymore but I bet the big auction site that starts with and E would have a couple. MAn I still can't get the model number in my mind. It's hell to get old. I think those might be your best bet.The thing is I don't think either of them would be less than $ 700 or $800. Even the little minideck which sold for about $1200 new was still around $600 to $800 used not too many months ago.
BTW, I still can't think of the model number. :-(

Took a look at the auction site you mentioned and saw a lot of options... from the DSR-11/20/30 and 45. The DSR-V10 is a mini-deck you might be thinking of. I know there was an HDV/DV/DVCAM version of that as well, but... I'm spacing the model number too!

I saw a DSR-20 for about 125.00 and 4 hours left... I'll see what I can come up with...

I'm pretty sure that all Sony DV camcorders will play a DVCam recording on a miniDV tape -- you could use any old DV camcorder. Only the VX700/1000 made before DVCam was released are unable, if memory serves.

Cheers,
GB

I don't thinkv the VX2000/2100 does either. IIRC the DV/DVCam starts with the PD150 and DSR250. The DSR 300 and 500 series are DVCam only while the DSR400and 450 did both.
IIRC the model of the mini deck that worked DV/DVCam was the ---1000. Models prior did not but there is a current model that works HDV/DV/DVCam but honestly the DSR11/20/30 series decks if decently maintained will do you right especially for the prices you found.

Just remember that a DV device playing back DVCam material will play it back with unlocked audio. I have a Sony DHR-1000 deck that I use for non-critical playback of DVCam material (screening, Timecode Window Burns etc.) so I can assure you this IS accurate.

In practice this means that you MAY experience the glitching/clicking noise if you butt end audio edits together in post which is completely negated if using locked audio.

DVCam was released long before the PD150 -- I stand on my claim that almost all Sony DV camcorders can play DVCam mini tapes.

And 'locked' audio is meaningless when you are doing computer based editing -- it was a solution targetted at deck-to-deck editors (e.g. newsrooms), not something that matters at all to NLE systems. So don't worry about locked/unlocked unless you are actually going to edit from one deck to another.

Cheers,
GB

Actually, you'll notice a difference cutting audio in FCP if it's locked or unlocked. You can butt end locked audio clips together with impunity. You may need to do SHORT cross fades to remove popping at edit points with unlocked audio. FAR from meaningless, I suggest that locked audio is the MAIN reason I shoot DVCam instead of DV when I shoot Sony SD cameras.

I can't vouch for how other NLEs handle locked versus unlocked.

Geoff,
I know DVCam was out long before the 150 but I seem to recall the VX series didn't do DVCam. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the small formfactor cameras that handled DVCam started with the 150. I can't remember that far back.
Oh well, a nice deck handles the challenge.

The playback of DVCam by Sony DV cameras isn't handled so much by being DVCam compliant BUT by a cool "feature" that Sony (and some others I'm sure) built into their cameras - the ability to ramp the transport speed up or down (by up to a factor of 50% - PERFECT for playing back DVCam) in order to handle tape speed differences between cameras. The only issue I ever had playing back was an LP DV recording on a Canon that was JUST too slow for my deck to sync with - it would play for five or so seconds and THEN drop sync and then play again. SO close but no banana.

I too prefer to shoot DVCam, but because I'm less likely to encounter drop-outs, and because I actually prefer a shorter tape ...

As for the science of locked vs unlocked, the venerable Adam Wilt has said it better than I could ever hope to:

The DV, DVCAM, & DVCPRO Formats -- tech details, FAQ, and links.

"Fortunately, the problem is understood by those in the business (at least at Apple, Canopus, and Digital Origin), and corrective measures are taken at capture time: Final Cut Pro measures the actual number of samples captured over time vs. the theoretical number, calculates the actual effective sampling rate, and uses that in QuickTime file processing."

The whole section is worth reading for a comprehensive understanding of what locked vs unlocked is all about.

Cheers,
GB

I'm not going to get into this argument any further than I already have. All I can say is that I have repeated seen a difference in locked and unlocked audio from DV sources in an FCP timeline (ingested via FW) and have decided that locked is FAR less likely to give me clipping errors at edit points. Your mileage may vary (and obviously has).