Doa Hd100 at DVinfo.net

Daniel Weber · April 6th, 2006, 06:22 PM

Well today I took delivery of my new HD100A. I purchased one of the last ones with the rebate that Texas Tapeworks offered. They were great to deal with on the phone.

I charged the small battery, loaded up the "Steve" SCN file and took it out to play in the beautiful spring colors in Maryland.

I shot about 10 minutes of footage and then took it in to hook up to my Mac to download into FCP. (HDV30p).

I made sure everything was powered off before hooking the cam to the Powerbook.

I ran FCP and it saw the camera. I then tried to batch capture but all i get is a black screen with timecode on the tape. (actually the screen is a dark blue color). The same image shows up on the LCD on the camera. I powered everything off then tried to play the footage just on the LCD screen on the cam. Still the same dark screen.

I called the vendor and they are calling JVC and I will call the Pro Service Center Line in the morning. I have checked all the settings and everything seems fine. This camera is an "A" model so I am surprised with the dead camera. In fact one reason that I went with the HD100 was because of the upgrade that they offered to fix several problems with the camera.

Hopefully I can get another camera, but I am a little worried now about the quality of the camera. It's to bad because I was blown away by the image I saw through the viewfinder. I felt like I was using my old DSR-570.

Any ideas before I call JVC in the morning?

Thanks,

Dan Weber

Jiri Bakala · April 6th, 2006, 07:10 PM

I had DSR-500 before the HD100 and I can tell you that the image quality of the JVC beats the DSR-500 in a big way. I liked my SONY for its reliability, there is no question about that. But since I can compare very similar shots from both cameras back to back on an HD monitor I can say that I am happy with my purchase.

If your camera is faulty, get it replaced and all should be fine. Remember, our DSR-500/570 was a tried and over many years improved technology going back to early betacams while this thing is all new - hence these bumps on the road.

Ken Freed JVC · April 6th, 2006, 07:18 PM

Dan, let me know how it goes.
kfreed@jvc.com

Daniel Weber · April 6th, 2006, 08:12 PM

Ken,

Thanks for the input.

I will call the JVC Pro Support line tomorrow morning. I will then talk the the vendor again and see if they can send me a replacement camera. They told me today they had one they could send me, but I needed to talk to JVC Pro Support first.

I think that the vendor is going to call Carl Hicks as well since he is the rep for their region.

Thanks,

Dan Weber

Chris Hurd · April 6th, 2006, 11:10 PM

Was the camera completely powered down before you inserted the FireWire cable connecting it to your Mac?

Nate Weaver · April 6th, 2006, 11:24 PM

Get to bed!

[edit to keep me on topic: I blew up the FW port on my HD100 this way. First time on any firewire device for me. I was sad.]

Greg Boston · April 6th, 2006, 11:29 PM

Hey, I can't sleep either. Must be like the Disneyworld commercial..."we're too exited to sleep." ;-) See you guys tomorrow.

-gb-

Daniel Weber · April 7th, 2006, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Was the camera completely powered down before you inserted the FireWire cable connecting it to your Mac?

Chris,

Yes the camera was powered down as was the laptop. I am paranoid about these things.

The video won't play on the LCD on the camera either.

Dan Weber

Carl Hicks · April 7th, 2006, 11:14 AM

I contaced Dan today, and asked him to do a test recording on a different tape. He did, and the camera is working fine now. He's going to keep an eye on it - test it out completly. He's got plenty of time to exchange it if any problems come up again.

Daniel Weber · April 7th, 2006, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Hicks

I contaced Dan today, and asked him to do a test recording on a different tape. He did, and the camera is working fine now. He's going to keep an eye on it - test it out completly. He's got plenty of time to exchange it if any problems come up again.

Well Carl beat me to posting an update.

We tried a new tape and now everything seems to be fine. I will try work out any kinks in the camera over the next few weeks to see if it happens again.

Great support from JVC on this. One of the reasons that I bought the camera.

Dan Weber

April 6th, 2006, 06:22 PM	#1
Daniel Weber Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 696	Doa Hd100 Well today I took delivery of my new HD100A. I purchased one of the last ones with the rebate that Texas Tapeworks offered. They were great to deal with on the phone. I charged the small battery, loaded up the "Steve" SCN file and took it out to play in the beautiful spring colors in Maryland. I shot about 10 minutes of footage and then took it in to hook up to my Mac to download into FCP. (HDV30p). I made sure everything was powered off before hooking the cam to the Powerbook. I ran FCP and it saw the camera. I then tried to batch capture but all i get is a black screen with timecode on the tape. (actually the screen is a dark blue color). The same image shows up on the LCD on the camera. I powered everything off then tried to play the footage just on the LCD screen on the cam. Still the same dark screen. I called the vendor and they are calling JVC and I will call the Pro Service Center Line in the morning. I have checked all the settings and everything seems fine. This camera is an "A" model so I am surprised with the dead camera. In fact one reason that I went with the HD100 was because of the upgrade that they offered to fix several problems with the camera. Hopefully I can get another camera, but I am a little worried now about the quality of the camera. It's to bad because I was blown away by the image I saw through the viewfinder. I felt like I was using my old DSR-570. Any ideas before I call JVC in the morning? Thanks, Dan Weber

April 6th, 2006, 07:10 PM	#2
Jiri Bakala Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kelowna BC Canada Posts: 706	I had DSR-500 before the HD100 and I can tell you that the image quality of the JVC beats the DSR-500 in a big way. I liked my SONY for its reliability, there is no question about that. But since I can compare very similar shots from both cameras back to back on an HD monitor I can say that I am happy with my purchase. If your camera is faulty, get it replaced and all should be fine. Remember, our DSR-500/570 was a tried and over many years improved technology going back to early betacams while this thing is all new - hence these bumps on the road. __________________ www.ascentfilms.com

April 6th, 2006, 07:18 PM	#3
Ken Freed JVC JVC Regional Sales Engineer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Wayne, NJ Posts: 49	Dan, let me know how it goes. kfreed@jvc.com __________________ Ken Freed JVC Mid-Atlantic District Sales Manager (201) 637-7706 kfreed@jvc.com

April 6th, 2006, 11:10 PM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Was the camera completely powered down before you inserted the FireWire cable connecting it to your Mac? __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

April 6th, 2006, 11:24 PM	#6
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	Get to bed! [edit to keep me on topic: I blew up the FW port on my HD100 this way. First time on any firewire device for me. I was sad.] __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net Last edited by Nate Weaver; April 7th, 2006 at 12:27 AM.

April 6th, 2006, 08:12 PM	#4
Daniel Weber Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 696	Ken, Thanks for the input. I will call the JVC Pro Support line tomorrow morning. I will then talk the the vendor again and see if they can send me a replacement camera. They told me today they had one they could send me, but I needed to talk to JVC Pro Support first. I think that the vendor is going to call Carl Hicks as well since he is the rep for their region. Thanks, Dan Weber

April 6th, 2006, 11:29 PM	#7
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Hey, I can't sleep either. Must be like the Disneyworld commercial..."we're too exited to sleep." ;-) See you guys tomorrow. -gb-

April 7th, 2006, 11:14 AM	#9
Carl Hicks JVC America Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: McKinney, TX Posts: 516	I contaced Dan today, and asked him to do a test recording on a different tape. He did, and the camera is working fine now. He's going to keep an eye on it - test it out completly. He's got plenty of time to exchange it if any problems come up again.