Mini DV stalling at the start

[John Peterson]

If you are using 83 minute tapes, try switching to 63 minute tapes. Sounds like transport wear on the camera. The shorter tapes will put less drag on the transport.

John

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by Ana Conlon

I'm going to investigate solid state. I'll have to educate myself on the pitfalls before the move.

Replying to an old post here, but...

Most of the "pitfalls" of going solid state seem to come from depending on "bargain" media. I'd "bite" the bullet and spend what it costs for GENUINE top brand recording media such as SanDisk (which is also the most counterfeited media card on the market which should tell us all something).

This is what I've done, ordering my media cards ONLY from a source known for integrity, like B&H in NYC. Each media card should be formatted IN THE CAMERA immediately on purchase and again before re-use on a new project.

Following the advice above I've not had a single data loss occur since I converted in early 2008.

Part of the conversion process may be a new computer. Today's modern Intel 2nd generation Core i7 quad core and six core processor based computers handle the job very well, same is said for the newer AMD quad and six core based machines.

Good luck

[J. Stephen McDonald]

Originally Posted by Ana Conlon

Hi all again,

All great advice and I now have a new strict policy of not reusing tape. It wasn't the cost, I was going on advice I was given in college. Either way its not worth the worry so even if you can reuse tape I'm not taking any chances!

It's a good idea to not re-use tapes, just to preserve the 1st-generation recording. Regardless of how many copies you make on disks or other media, there's nothing like having the tape with the camera recording on hand. In some cases, these recordings on ME tape may last longer than on anything else. I have ME Hi-8 tapes from 23 years ago, that still play and analog is more unforgiving than intraframe digital about glitches.