XHA1 issues w/ Sony DVC HD Mini Dv Tapes (dvm63hdr)
 

I am sick! I just did my second wedding and I bought two brand new tapes. Red Package, SONY DVC HD for hdv/dv use. Mini DV Tapes. I was shooting in HD 24f.

I was using my Canon XHA1

Does anyone have past experience with the SONY HDV HD mini dv tapes not recording or capturing any video?

I was the sole videographer for a wedding this past weekend and I switched to a brand new clean tape, During the wedding it looked like all was normal and recording time code just as any other tape would in the hundreds ive used in the past.

I used a Canon XHA1, The mini dv tapes say they are for hdv /dv, I was shooting in HD.

Perhaps the camera can't play back video off of these tapes? but that seems ridiculous?

It was a two pack of tapes, i just opened the 2nd tape and recording 1 minute and then tried to play back, and I got nothing.

oI used another brand tape and it worked fine.

any suggestions?

I need all the help I can get here!!!!!!!

I have been using the DVM63HD's exclusively for the past three years in my XHA1 without incidents.

How often do you clean your heads. I am pretty religious about using the a Canon Head Cleaning Cassette DVM-CL after every ten hours of recording.

I really don't know what else to tell you.

Some suggestions and a possible reassurance.

1. If the time code indicator was rolling in the viewfinder or LCD while you were shooting, the camera was 99.99% certain to have been recording to the tape.

2. Do you have access to any other cams that will play 24f HDV, say, a Canon HV 20? Try playing the tapes from another cam and see if you get anything.

3. Are you saying that the camera will not play when you use the remote? Your remote might be bad or the battery could be bad or your camera's remote sensor might not be working. If you have been using the remote, try flipping open the cover on the top of the handle and use those controls with the viewfinder open and the control dial set to "VCR Play."

4. Or, are you saying that you can't see anything on your computer when trying to control the camera and capture via firewire? That is typical for HDV capture from NLEs. If that is the problem, uplug the firewire cable from the camera, flip open the LCD screen, turn the camera dial to VCR Play, and press that play button on the top of the handle. If the tapes will play from there, and your problem is with firewire capture and camera control, check your playback settings. Some computers will not recognize the XH when the playback setting is "auto" but others will not recognize it unless the setting matches the tape (HDV for HD, DV for SD). Some computers won't talk to the XHA1 at all.

5. Are you sure that you have switched the XH control dial to "VCR Play" and haven't gone onto the next stop, "External Control"?

I briefly had an issue last year where something happened with the head, and my footage would not play back. It was like it was out of alignment or something, hard to describe. I ran a head cleaner and it began to work again. I have used Sony tapes for the 4 years I have had the camera and that is the only small issue I have encountered.

Hopefully, it will be something that simple.

Do note that the playback heads are not the recording heads, so your recording is probably fine. Quickest way to tell iif you have a playback head problem is to find another camera or deck that will play back HDV 24f. If the tape plays back in another cam, use that for capturing so you can produce the wedding video. Then, when you get a chance, try the head cleaning as Mike suggested. If that does not fix it, you may need to send your camera in for service.

same problem
 

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I was having same problem on both of my A1's. Sent them both to canon and they could not "replicate the problem". Timecode would roll and there was no warnings and much of my recording wasn't there. I used several playback decks with no success. I was frustrated and bought a firestore during this process.

Then I was running low on tapes, so I order a different kind of tape(Sony VG 63) and haven't had one problem since. I had the exact same tapes you were using. So I guess it was a bad batch of tapes. I know that sounds crazy, but I have no other explanation and it was happening in both of my cameras.

Since I use a firestore now I don't mind using the $6(Sony VG 63) since they act as a back-up. If I'm handing off tapes to a client I use the $16 pro sony tapes.

Please help.... Canon XHA1 problem
 

I recently connected my Sony A1E to a neighbours Canon XHA1 through the firewire to try and down convert from HDV on the Sony down to DV on the Canon, for capture puposes. (Not realising that the Sony could do this all on its own)
Now the neighbours Canon will only playback DV and not HDV tapes - I've changed and rechanged the menu settings but with no luck.

Can anyone out there please help.
Best regards, John

John:

Is this a play issue or a capture issue?

What , if any messages do you get when trying to play a previously recorded HDV tape?

Need help to recover 1 tape
 

I had the non-playback happen to me too. I have a tape that I shot with that will not play back in my camera. It shows a blank screen with no time code. I am 100% sure I recoded on this tape. I have cleaned my heads and also re-recorded another 30 seconds of color bars at the beginning of the tape, but it still does not play back. The tape shot before and after this one play back fine though. My camera also had just come back from a repair (replaced CCD assembly) about a month earlier. Before that, I have never had one problem with any tape. Also did the reset as suggested in another thread. That was a bust too.

Would anyone here be willing to try to view my tape to see if it can be read in their camera? I would be willing to pay for the effort if the footage can be retrieved. Please email me if you would be willing to help out.

Thanks.

As a side note, because of this incident, I have lost all trust in my camera. I probably wont use it again until I can get a Datavideo DN-60 or something similar, which may be about 4-6 months from now. If I had the resources, I would replace it.

Same Problem - HELP!
 

I had a last minute client request live event recording 3 days ago and did not have time to re-supply with Sony Master tapes for my Canon XH A1.

So I stopped at Best Buy and picked up a 2-pack of the Sony DVC HD tapes. On the packaging it claims to be perfect for "Full HD 1080".

I recorded some color bars at the head and proceeded to use 1 tape for the entire event. I was shooting in Canon's 30F format, 1080.

Just now when I hooked up the XH A1 to my FCP edit system, the tape appears to have NOTHING recorded to it!

The entire time I was recording there were no indications that nothing was being recorded!

This is a serious issue... if anybody has any possible solutions it would GREATLY help as this was my first gig with this client and I definitely don't want to tell them that the footage was all LOST!

Please, help DV-Info! :(

John

I've had that exact problem recently with a Sony DVM63. The first 5 minutes and 30 seconds of tape recorded nothing. No picture, no TC. When the picture finally kicked in, the timecode shown was accurate (started at 00:05:30). Of course, the interviews with the bride and the groom were on that first 5:30. Sigh...

I tried the tape in an XL1s and had the same results. I tried the tape in a VX2100. Same results. The first 5 minutes and 30 seconds will not record anything.

My XH-A1 was serviced earlier this year for the handgrip recall. I'm assuming they cleaned the heads during that service.

The DVM63 is the only tape stock I've ever used, and this is the first problem I've had with them. The other tapes from the same package were fine.

Yes, I did send a note to Sony. Now that I hear these complaints from you guys, I'm beginning to think Sony had a bad run of tape stock.

Small Update 10.29.2010
 

Hey Guys,

So I took my XH-A1 to a local camera repair shop where I have a very experienced friend to have them take a look.

They were COMPLETELY baffled when I showed them the record process followed by 'non-existent' playback.

One of the engineers claims that he's almost 100% sure the footage is on the tape, but that it could be a bad batch of tapes (as the previous poster stated).

Another strange incidence: While in the shop I performed a 2nd test, recording in 1080 30f for 30 seconds. This time, to my surprise, IT PLAYED BACK!

This gives me hope that if I just hook my XH-A1 up to the edit system and go to the end of the tape, back to the beginning, play, etc over and over again that eventually the camera will recognize the footage signature and kick in.

Fingers thoroughly crossed,

John

While you were at the shop, did anybody put that tape in another cam to be sure it played back?

Yes and No
 

Hey Jay,

While I was at the shop the techs tried another XH-A1 with my original 30F 1080 tape - to no avail :(

However, the test I recorded IN SHOP played back fine on both cameras.

It's a very weird and unsettling predicament. I am planning on scanning through the entire tape tonight (almost 45 minutes of footage) to see if there is any salvageable footage.

Will let you know how it goes.

John

This sounds like an issue with the tape stock. It may have been cut from at or near the edge of the sheet and thus have a non-uniform coating causing tracking issues. That it happens mainly with Sony brand may well be significant.

I guess the moral is to test each tape by recording a minute or so and then play it back to verify it is working before any important shoot. In any case, for automated capture it usually is best to not have anything you need on the first or lst 60 seconds or so of the tape. Sounds like that simple 2 minute step would have detected the reported problems.

Sony Media Services
 

Don - I recorded 2 minutes of color bars at the head of the tape and did a quick 5 second playback at home before the event. Looked fine. Later those same color bars disappeared along with the rest of the footage.

Very strange indeed...

After going through customer support line after customer support line, I was directed to Sony Media Services - Sony Media Services .

I will be sending them the tapes in hopes they can salvage the footage. Or, at the very least, confirm my suspicion that it is indeed a bad batch of tapes that I can be refunded for.

In the mean time I must inform the client and hope he agrees to let me offer him a free 1 minute promotional video edit from the stills I took that night.

Thanks,

John

I had exactly the same problem with one SONY HDV HD and one of my XH-A1 and since then I never use SONY tapes again.

I've been involved with magnetic recording tape and production of all types for 46yrs and I've read through the posts.

Don is correct, if you don't record 1 min of video and audio tests at the start of EVERY tape before any event, you're inviting trouble.
NEVER EVER unwrap a new tape and start recording on it .. just don't do it.

When you buy say, a pack of 5 tapes open ém up and run tests on all of them, BUT first wipe the cam down especially the top so no microgrit gets into the tape transport .. then clean the heads.

Write out a pre gig checklist and keep it in your bag, start with charge batteries. Figure out how much tape you need and double it .. if you're planning to use say 4 tapes, number them first and slide the rec tabs to safe after each one so you don't record over the first one. It has happened.

Another tip .. practice this, shut your eyes and learn to start and stop your cam by feel, eg: with the A1 it's 4 clicks to enable auto. This will help prevent what we call 'finger trouble'.. which I suspect has happened here for a couple of members.

I'm sorry this doesn't fix your present problems but it might prevent others in future.

Cheers.

LeVern Danley reports in a private e-mail:

"I recently read your post on DVinfo.net. I tried to post a comment to all but Could not. In any case please ask the guys on the post to look at the tape Batch number on the top of the tape. This is a problem with Sony tape stock. I just recently had the problem and have pinpointed it to one batch of tapes Marked 52TYS206L 0035. The whole box has given me the exact problem you are Referring to."

In another PM Joe Glickman reports:

"I tried posting on the forum, but it would not let me. I, too, had problems with a batch of HDV tapes I purchased. It was a box of 5, Tape Stock DVM63HDR. The Batch # printed on the lid of one of the actual tapes reads 52TYS206L 0026. On the carton there is a batch # that reads 51TYS206L....Sony has acknowledged a bad batch and sent me a head cleaner and new batch of tapes to see if I can record on those (or in other words to prove it's not their tapes, but my camera, which I know is not true because a camera with dirty heads won't selectively record on premium stock but then not on the HDV stock.) They are also having me send them my tapes to try and duplicate the problem...."

Sony DVC HD tapes DVM63
 

Hi Just bought 2 batches of 5 Sony DVC HD tapes DVM63 from B&H photo. I was trying to record a cheerleading competiton yesterday. 11-13-10 H ave a sony Z5U I kept getting a clean head error I could not get the cam to record. I switched to my back up FX1000 same thing!!! I tried 4 tapes and it did not work. I went back to my case where I had 2 new back up tapes about 6 month old and put them in and everything worked fine. It has to be a bad batch of tapes?? I have never had this happen before. Now I am really shy about using tapes. I am glad I was not shooting a wedding.

One thing I did notice is over the past 4 months of using the Sony DVM63 I have been having frame dropps. I have never had this before either..

Any one have any suggestions on on anohter tape. I have 2 evens coming up this weekend and I am shy at the moent!

My batch number is 51TYSO16L DVM63 HDR

Don what number did you call at Sony?

Was not my problem (I generally use Panasonic tape). I just posted part of the content of two PMs that I receive from readers who cannot post.

I do not have a Sony number but you should be able to find a customer service number from their applicable web page.

Wonder if Sony has outsourced their tape manufacturing?

Almost sounds like a back door effort to force people to upgrade/buy a tapeless camcorder.

Well It might be an effort to do so. I am Sorry I thought you posted that you called them. I will call B&H Photo and let them handel it.. I just orderd 10 Panasonic HD DV tapes... I will give them a try.. LIke I said I have a event this weekedend and can not have my tapes not working.

I feel bad for the guy who lost a wedding!! I am glad my cam was giving me head cleaning error that warned me I was having a problem. I alos do weddings and that is my greatest fear!!!!!

Still no word from Sony Media Services
 

Hey All,

My tape is still in Sony Media Repair Service's hands.

Don - looking at your message, the PM from Joe Glickman I checked my tape. Sure enough, I , too have tapes from batch 51TYS206L .

I guess that narrows it down! Now to hope Sony Media Services is able to pull a rabbit out of a defective hat.

Thanks,

John


*EDIT* To be exact, the one tape I have (the other was sent to Sony Media Services) reads: 52TYS206L 0156

Sony Admits bad batch(es) of tape
 

I hear from LeVern Danley there is a Sony admission effective on the 15th - they own up to bad batch(es) of HDV tape.

DVM63HD, Production numbers xxxxxxx8L, xxxxxxx7L, xxxxxxx6L, xxxxxxx5L
The production number maybe on the cassette, the box, the wrapper. etc.

Call 877-440-3453 for replacement tape.

One more case of bad sony tapes
 

I decided to check a recent purchase of dvm63hd tapes from B&H. They are bad as everyone has described. 53TYS012L 1318 on tape. Thanks to everyone for making this issue visible to us all. I would have just used them, resulting in a major video show failure. I will call Sony. I have only used these tapes in my canon XH-A1 until now.

See the thread linked below for more details on the Sony announcement.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-...-hdv-tape.html

Hello,
just to mention:

I checked my tapes and found new tapes with the numbers which could be wrong.
i contacted Sony and mentioned this forum discussion and my tape numbers.

the reply I received was: my tapes are OK because it has only to do with tapes which are suplied in the USA. tapes for Europe and Asia are fine.

Wil

If you have tapes with the same batch numbers as reported defective .. I'd return them for exchange.

Cheers.

Tapes may cross national lines once they are in shipping/distribution channels. For example, B&H Photo and Video often offers film that was nominally packaged for Europe. And gray market goods are common in high tech and photo, at least inthe USA.

If the tapes are giving the described problem - get ride of them. However, if not, them may be the European stock was OK.

Don I don't think it's worth the worry, if you have those defective batch numbers anywhere on the planet, just dump or exchange them.

The worry whether shipping also stuffed it up, you try them they seem Ok but later they decompose is just not worth it.

Cheers.