View Full Version : JVC vs Sony timecode issues


Ian Planchon
July 1st, 2008, 02:52 PM
anyone else shoot on your HD100 and then try and play out of a sony deck/camera only to find it wont read timecode? I have been running into this for a while now, and was told by tech that its just that the two brands dont play well together. I really would like a fix though.

Carlos Rodriguez
July 2nd, 2008, 10:46 AM
It's just the nature of the beast. The two formats are not compatible with each other. It would be nice if someone (ahem) made a deck that played both formats. If you shoot HDV1 (720p) use the JVC deck or your cam. If you shoot HDV2 (1080i) then the sony.

Mark Silva
July 2nd, 2008, 12:15 PM
so it plays it just fine, but you get no timecode at all on capture?

Steve Mullen
July 3rd, 2008, 04:42 AM
so it plays it just fine, but you get no timecode at all on capture?

As I remember, HD1 and HD2 store timecode information in different areas of the digital data. One's in the ITI area and I think another is within the frame.

By the way, although Sony and JVC arrived at a single marketing name (HDV) at the tape level there are major differences between the two formats. For example, HD1 does NOT write into the area on DV tape reserved for PCM audio. In theory, 2-channels of PCM audio could be added to ProHD. (In fact, one test channel was implemented in the HD100.) Who knows, there might be two now! JVC found the software folks were not keen to support this feature.

HD2 uses the entire area Video + PCM track area.

The other difference: HD1 is ready-to-broadcast 720p. It IS an ATSC legal stream -- even for 24p. HD2 is recorded not as M2T, but as PES.

JVC has used generic MPEG-2 all the way. They just gave it a nice marketing name.

One of the Avid lists is still trying to figure out Canons two types of 24p and Sony's two types of 24p and how to play them back.

Ian Planchon
July 3rd, 2008, 06:56 AM
sorry, I should have mentioned that none of this was shot in HD. it was all shot in standard def. you would think standard def would play out in any and all decks WITH timecode.

Ian Planchon
July 3rd, 2008, 06:59 AM
so it plays it just fine, but you get no timecode at all on capture?

correct. it plays absolutely fine, but there is no rolling timecode. some decks will through up some random series of numbers that just sit there, some have a bunch of dashes where the numbers should be, but none (sony) show rolling timecode.


irritating.

Mark Silva
July 3rd, 2008, 10:45 AM
if you shot that on DV it should read in every DV playback device out
there unless it was recorded in LP mode.

Ian Planchon
July 4th, 2008, 04:13 PM
is there even an option to record in LP mode on the HD100? I have never seen it. but if there is, I am pretty sure that I wasnt recording in it, I had a 63 minute tape, and was only able to shoot 63 minutes.

so if you think that it should be fine in DV mode. then obviously there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Mark Silva
July 5th, 2008, 09:13 PM
no option for LP mode, but standard SP mode should not be a problem.