a bit of help
 

Hi Guys, my HD101 is all working ok but the other day I had this happen all through the tape,can any one tell what this is,

see pic.

Rob

Hi Robert,

What tapes are you using? If you do a search on this forum you'll find info which tapes are the best to use with the HD100.
Also regulary clean your heads with a cleaning tape before shooting.
I clean every 5 tapes I recorded.

I only used The JVC Pro HD tapes , i have never used a head cleaner, i think i read a post from Tim saying to be cafefull about useing a head cleaner ????

Any one else??

Your tape didn't roll properly through the tape transport as it was recording. I've had it happen once. I took the very same tape and recorded to it again with no drops like you're showing. There used to be an old trick of forwarding the tape all the way to the end and then rewinding before using it. Gladly those days are gone.

Based on personal experience, I've always recommended using a head cleaner cassette and ProHD tapes exclusively. I've clogged the heads with the JVC "Pro" tape before (yellow/red stripe box), but never the ProHD tape (yellow/blue stripe box.)
I also recommend that everyone run a head cleaner when you open a new camera for the first time.

Might be a silly question but are there specific Pro HD head cleaners or will a standard DV head cleaner suffice?

re head cleaner
 

hi Tim,

What brand of head cleaner and is there any special one for the JVC??

thanks rob.

The standard JVC head cleaner works. MDV-2MCL I've also used a Panasonic one with equal success.

snap
 

snap i would have to say to david, how that same question same time, what are the chances lol.
:-)

Yeah, but your question was much more poetic :)
Thanks Tim.

One other piece of advice - if you are using one brand of tape, say sony, use a sony head cleaner. Keep to the same brand for everything once you've started using it. Not all brands clean heads in the same way apparently.

john
evilgeniusentertainment.com

This is a bit redundant, but in past threads Carl Hicks has recommended the JVC or the Panasonic head cleaner and JVC ProHD tapes. Apparently the two headcleaner tapes are similar (or the same?).

I believe that for those who use Sony tapes that their head cleaners use a different method ("wet" vs "dry"). JVC tapes are pretty difficult to find up here in Michigan, so we went with another brand. I was warned to only use that brand's cleaner...

Don't know if it's really a big deal or not... But the recording heads on the JVC100 do seem to be a bit more prickly than other DV cameras I've used (of course, they have to record a HDV signal).

john
evilgeniusentertainment.com

My 2 cents:

I have owned more than 20 pro cameras and VCRs in the 25 years I've been in business. Everything from U-Matic, Beta SP to DVC Pro / DV and now HDV. Almost every head cleaner I bought had a warning : to use sparingly and only if needed. IE if the heads are clogged and the picture has snow. Drop outs are most often due to tape formulations. My umatic and beta camera / decks never had a cleaning in the more than 5 years I had them, My Panasonic AJ D 200 had only 1 head cleaning in the more than 6 years I've had it. My VX 2000 had it's first cleaning in 6 years just a few months ago. My 6 month old HD 100 so far has not seen a head cleaner. I have one strict rule though. Only new tapes in my cameras, always FF to end and rewound before use, and only footage I've shot in my decks. My experiences may not be typical or recomended, but they work for me. It would be great if Carl Hicks or someone from JVC weigh in on this and give some specific instructions for what works best for their cameras.

Jay

[QUOTE=Jay YellamatyI have one strict rule though. Only new tapes in my cameras, always FF to end and rewound before use, and only footage I've shot in my decks. [/QUOTE]


Jay - thanks for the tips - but what does FFing to end of tape do? Wouldn't that, at least in some way, put more wear and tear on the tape transports and maybe even the heads (not sure if the heads touch the tape at all in FF/RW mode)?

Could you FF in another camera (if you had one) to achieve the same effect?

john
evilgeniusentertainment.com