I just noticed a strange white dot burned into all my footage near the center of the screen. I couldn't see it with the camera's lcd but discovered it while I was editing and the footage was on a dark backgound. Looks like several pixels burnt out or something. Can this actually happen? Is the ccd screwed? Is this a replacement or a repair? Damn, I'm not very happy about this... :(

Will,

I hope it's something as simple as just a tiny spot on the lens, or a filter if you were using one. If the apeture was small then the DOF would be enough to show a spot.

If not, I know that LCD makers generally have a "tolerance" for the acceptable number of "bad" pixels. I'm sure that most cameras (all brands and flavors) have at least a few and we just don't notice them amongst the compression artifacts or the stunning performances of the talent. ; )

My still digicam has a function to "map the LCD"...real meaning: it turns off the signal from the bad ones it finds. The JVC doesn't have one in our "user" menus. (But, i'm sure it's in there in the "service" menus and/or tables hidden in the depths of the camera.)

Either way, You can clean up the spot in post fairly easily especially since the spot would be in a consistant location...unlike the unfortunate spontaneous "zit" on the lead actor's nose.

be well,

G.

I looked at it closely and it's bright and very noticable. I hoped it was some dust spec or something. Now what is the ccd made of? Is it also made with the same tech as an lcd? if so I have heard about the "acceptable allowance" of burn out, but I don't know if I want to use this camera anymore. Now that I know it's there, it's gonna drive me nuts!! Does anyone know if this is a ccd thing? Can ccd's be easily repaired or replaced?

thanks!

Will, I'd get it repaired or replaced straight away, assuming your warranty is still active.

My JVC 500 camcorder has some dead pixels and they have a protocol for erasing or at least minimizing such spots. With DV resolutions the pixels have to be really wide (several in a row) to be noticeable. With HD, probably a single pixel burn-out is going to stick out like a sore thumb. Call the tech dept. or Ken Freed to find out what to do. My guess is you can get the block replaced. Good luck!!!!

My friend has an HD1 and it has a dead pixel. Not on the LCD panel or viewfinder, it actually burns a constant-on green pixel right into the footage.

It's called a stuck on pixel. the camera has a error correction chip thats suppose to mask errors in the image. Call JVC support, they'll have you send in the camera and realign the CCD. takes about a week.

Thanks for all the info guys! Off it goes back to Japan (yeah that's where I got it from) I hope the image will look as good as a new unblemished camera, don't know if I should demand a replacement or just have them repair it.

Thanks again everyone.