Seeking Advice on video restoration captures

[Kilto]

Hi, I have no experience with A/V or anything. I have 40+ Mini-DV family videos, recorded on a Canon HV20 Camcorder, going back 10-20 years. Periodically we would watch these videos through the camcorder plugged to the TV and never had any issues with playback. I sent all of them to legacybox.com and that was quite a farce - getting digital files with nothing on it, sending tapes back 3 times. Getting digital files that skipped extensively. I would get a file that skipped, check against the original tape, send evidence that the tape didn't skip and they would redo it, the subsequent new digital file did not skip. However, there are tapes that have come back now that do skip when playing in the camcorder. Also my camcorder is no longer rewinding without stopping and telling me to eject the tape. It makes a lot of noise, clicking, when rewinding. Never had these issues before. I don't know what to do next. I find it odd/coincidental that I have issues playing back tapes after sending to legacybox. My primary concern right now is preserving my memories. How do I know if the tape is the issue, i.e. permanently damaged, do I find a different service to restore/repair and convert to a digital file? I don't know where to turn next. Thanks for any help. K

[Alwyn]

Unfortunately, Legacybox does not have a good name for this work and is despised on VideoHelp.

I have an HV20 and it is not in a good way. I have given it a lot of work over the years but various things have gone wrong which make it now virtually unusable.

You and Legacy Box could be in the same boat with the HV20. Compared to the Sony camcorders, I think they are not as well-built.

The fact that LB got some video off the tapes indicates that they worked out your tape format ie DV or HDV. You can tell what format the tape is recorded in by noting the "HDV" or "DV" at the top of the screen when playing. The cause of the skipping could be your, or their, failing camcorder.

I doubt that they could have physically damaged your tapes just by playing them, albeit largely unsuccessfully, but you never know.

Unfortunately, getting video off the HV20 can be complicated because you must use either Firewire, a convoluted cabling system going into a Thunderbolt port (may work), capture of the HDMI signal or an analogue capture of the Component video. The HV20 does not have S-Video.

If you already have a firewire port on your computer, you're in business and can use HDVSplit to transfer your HDV or Scenalyzer to transfer your DV.

If you don't have Firewire installed, you'll need to add a Firewire PCIe card.

Capture of the HDMI signal or Component will require a special USB digitiser.

Cost-wise, it will certainly be cheaper to do 40 tapes yourself, assuming at least $20 per tape done commercially. The downside is that there is a lot of knowledge to absorb if you're not computer-nerdy. We can certainly guide you and it will hopefully be very rewarding when you complete your task but it will, at least initially, be a steep learning curve. The good part is you'll know that the job was done correctly and safely (no tape damage).

The first thing I would do is establish the serviceability of your HV20. If you have an unwanted MiniDV tape, chuck it in and do a few recordings to see how it records and plays back. Don't use your memories tapes. If you don't have a spare tape, borrow one or buy a sealed tape off EBay or similar.

If you do find your HV20 is knackered, you'd have to source another HDV camcorder or player if you're going to do this yourself; any of the HV20,30,40 will do. I think Sony and others also made HDV camcorders, but I'm not familiar with those.

Do you have a Firewire port on your PC, or an HDMI In port?

An alternative is to seek out another transfer house, asking them if they can deal with HDV tapes specifically. Local would obviously be the best. You could even do a shout-out to VideoHelp members who may be able to do it for you at an agreed rate.

Lots of things to consider!

[Kilto]

Thank You so much for all of that information. Some of which I can understand. Let me start with a couple simple questions - if the camcorder is playing videos and it is skipping while doing so, won't the capture of that video via firewire (which I think I have), capture skipping video? Does the fact that the camcorder and legacybox both have skipping video at the same places suggest that it is the tape that is the issue not the player? Pardon me if these are dumb questions. If I look for a local service to deal with the tapes with the issues, what specifically am I asking about their qualifications/capabilities so that I don't end up with the same result I had with legacybox? Thanks so much. I really appreciate all of that input. K

[Kilto]

Okay, I reread your message. So I tested the camera out with a blank tape and the recording skipped. Also, I realized the tapes that are skipping are the some of the last ones I recorded - 2016ish. Would that mean that tape is f'd? Is there any way to fix a tape under that circumstance? Thanks so much.

[Santiago]

I use iMemories in Arizona. You can ship your tapes. I have always had successful transfers with them.

[johns0]

Kilto-I changed your thread title so more people can help you,next time you post a thread use a more descriptive title.

[Kilto]

Thanks. Not really sure what to call it. So, if my tape is skipping when played both at Legacybox and through my camera, can that tape be salvaged? Or is it forever damaged? Thanks for the help and references.

[Alwyn]

Kilto, it could be, but can only be confirmed in another camcorder/VCR that plays HDV tapes. If you're not keen on doing it by yourself, you could send it to imemories (not a recommendation, I'm only basing that on Santiago's comment). Before you do though, contact them to confirm they can deal with HDV-recorded MiniDV tapes, because the same MiniDV tapes are used for Standard Definition DV as well.

Another thing you could try is cleaning the heads on your HV20 with a head-cleaning tape, as per page 92 of the manual:


[Attachment 78499 - Click to enlarge]

Follow the instructions on the cleaning tape box.

[Kilto]

Thanks. I will clean the heads. I will investigate NJ services that can restore and convert these remaining tapes. Thanks for the help!