time code sync bug?
 

I have expended a fair amount of effort attempting to sync the timecode of multiple HVX200s by connecting them via firewire and following the procedure described in the manual.

Unfortunately, the results have been inconsistent -- usually off by a second or two.

Are there any tricks/special techniques to make this feature work, or is the implementation of timecode sync so buggy as to be useless?

Thanks in advance for any feedback/advice...


Ben Wolf
Topiary Productions, Inc.

It certainly shouldn't be off by a second or two(!), but maybe a frame or two.

It's of limited value, in my testing. It works, but as soon as you toggle modes (from MCR back to camera, or from camera to MCR) you'll lose a couple of frames of sync. Which is annoying, because the very first thing you must do (after establishing sync) is toggle the mode! So I haven't been able to get it absolutely frame-accurate in camera mode on both.

I have left a DVX and an HVX sync'd and running for several hours, and there was no drift whatsoever, but the original initial sync offset (about two frames) was present the whole time.

The way I get around it is to sync 'em, toggle back to camera mode, and then use one camera to shoot the other camera's timecode display. That lets you know exactly what the offset is between the two. The "sync'd" code will be plenty close enough to get you in the ballpark when assembling the timeline, and then that "slate" of timecode at the front will let you know how far to offset the timecode.

Thing is, any time your battery dies or you toggle the camera mode, you'll lose a couple more frames of sync. You can re-sync throughout the day, it only takes a second, but it's something you have to remember to do.

My experience has been relatively close to Barry's -- which really means that this "feature" is so poorly implemented as to be essentially useless.

Anyone can manually set time code to within a few frames -- the point of syncing timecode is to make it frame accurate, so multi-camera work becomes completely automated.

Too bad...


BW

Is this still the case?

Is the timecode sync facility on the HVX completely useless?

timecode sync flaw
 

As far as I know, this problem has not been corrected.


BW