I'm getting 3 dropped frames per tape - at least. Tested by recording television for an hour straight on my HV20. Using the Costco TDK premium tapes - they used to work perfectly. :(

Now, here's the question. Is my HV20 broken? I've tried head cleaning, changing the tape stock (after head cleaning) and I still have tons of dropouts.

What's a guy to do?

Happens the same to me. The worst issue of this nice little camera... a bit dissapointing

Sommat's up guys. Although these TDKs are marked 'Premium', is that 'premium' as in Sony tapes? If so, remember that each tape costs you about $2US, so less than the price of a sandwich. Best to try a higher grade of tape - one specifically labelled as HDV or DVCAM, and see what happens then.

Open your tape door and have a look at the capstan. If there's a ring of gunge about 1 mm up from the main bearing it may mean a tape path clean is called for. Head cleaning tapes only clean the drum - nothing else.

tom.

I use TDKs and I have no problem. Your problem might just be resources or speed of your computer and not tape/camera problem.

I'm with Eugenia on this one. I have been using the TDK Costco tapes for years and haven't had a bad one yet.

I use TDKs and I have no problem. Your problem might just be resources or speed of your computer and not tape/camera problem.

I'd love to talk to you about what I think the problem was in IM, and how to fix it from there. I'm going back to the Panasonics, and sticking to them. Not that TDK is bad, but I think my problem is that the TDK tapes are somehow interacting with the Panasonic tapes.

As my feature is recorded on Panasonic tapes, I'll stick with those.

DOH! I'm SUCH AN IDIOT!

I'm working off of my MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro only has a 160GB HD. I've only got about 40 GB free at any one time, so I've been capturing directly to the external USB 2.0 drive.

Do you think THAT could be the cause of my dropouts? :(

Great, now I'm going to have to wait 3 weeks to get my camera back and it may not have even needed it.

You didn't try watching the tape hooked up directly to your TV?

You didn't try watching the tape hooked up directly to your TV????

You didn't try watching the tape hooked up directly to your TV????

No, I didn't think of it.

Hey, I'm an amateur, and I make no claims to be anything but.

Try several captures of the same spots of the tape where you had drop outs. If the dropout is gone, it is unlikely a pure tape problem. It maybe a transient head clog, possibly caused by dust or other debris/crud in the mechanism. (A day at the beach is a great way to develop this.) Alternatively it could be a problem with the PC, such as a fragmented hard drive or some background process robbing clock cycles.

Low cost tape name brand tape is typically subject to a lesser level of quality control, which translates to more tape flaws than in higher priced tape form the same maker. This may translate 2x the number of apparent drop outs or tape read errors in a given amount of tape. Not sure if TDK makes tape, or just relabels tape made for them by someone else.

"Premium" in product labeling is a word without specific meaning, except maybe for beer in the old days where it means a product from "out of town" and therefore more costly because you had to pay a "premium" to cover the additional shipping cost.

DOH! I'm SUCH AN IDIOT!

I'm working off of my MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro only has a 160GB HD. I've only got about 40 GB free at any one time, so I've been capturing directly to the external USB 2.0 drive.

Do you think THAT could be the cause of my dropouts? :(

Great, now I'm going to have to wait 3 weeks to get my camera back and it may not have even needed it.


You're on to something. Going from HV20 through computer and directly out to a USB2 HDD is THE cause, occasional dropouts occurs. I know, I tried it myself for giggles. When I switched to firewire onto same external HDD, I got absolutely zero hiccups.