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  1. My Video camera is recording these horizontal lines. Drop-outs!
    Can someone explain to me why, and what's the resolve?
    This is a pro quality MiniDV Tape that's brand new.

    Sony DSR PD170, Panasonic PQ MiniDV Tape

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  2. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    I suspect it was your capture/transfer + storage + replay process which did this. Looks like your sample is zoomed & fast-forwarded?

    What was your process? Is this the first time you've used this cam (ought to be a quite decent semi-pro DV cam)? Did you just buy this used, or something?

    Those don't look like any DV dropouts I've seen. DV does do some weird shit when it cannot rebuild the DCT structure (because of physical tape corruption/garbling), but this doesn't really look like that.

    Scott
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    I've seen a similar effect when using a tape that had been used before on my VX2000E and the heads needed the cleaning tape running through them. If it's a camera that you've recently bought then it might be that it has always been used with a different brand of tape so the differing lubricant has coated the heads. I never use anything but Sony tapes in mine and don't reuse a tape.
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  4. What was your process? Is this the first time you've used this cam (ought to be a quite decent semi-pro DV cam)? Did you just buy this used, or something?
    Yes, I purchased this camera used. I've used the camera successfully many times before. I'm experiencing these horizontal lines in the camera. Not capture process. I'm not sure what tape the previous owner used. I've been testing newly purchased Sony DVC and Panasonic PQ MiniDV brands. I was advised to stay away from the consumer grade MiniDV tapes. So I'm testing the professional grade tapes and I'm still experiencing these horizontal lines. I capture through Final Cut Pro. I'm hoping this is a matter of running a cleaner tape in the camera.
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  5. That kind of banding can indicate a mismatch between DV and DVCam recording/playback. While electronically identical, DVCam runs the tape 50% faster and offers greater reliability. I don't recall what the manual or automatic options are on that particular camera.
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  6. Do you mean I'm recording this tape in the wrong mode?
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  7. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    see if there are separate modes for dv, dvcam, and auto. try recording/playback in each. if none work the cam is probably damaged.
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    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
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  8. Ok, so I followed this guy's tutorial on how to use a MiniDV head cleaner. The head cleaner appears to have resolved my problem considerably. However, I still see bits of drop-outs in the recording. So, I'll just keep a continuous cleaning regiment going with this camera.



    How often should you use a head cleaner before you dispose of it?
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  9. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    also stick to 1 brand/model of tape to avoid mixing lubricants.
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    "a lot of people are better dead" - prisoner KSC2-303
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