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  1. I have several mini-dv tapes from around 2006 that I recorded on a Sony DCR-TRV30. The tapes and the camcorder are in excellent condition (maybe 50 hours of use). Of the 12 tapes I've only been able to play content from one, and it is perfect (no dropouts or pixelation visible). The other 11 tapes display a blue screen on the camera's LCD. I'm attempting to play the tapes with the same unit that recorded them so alignment/calibration shouldn't be an issue. The tapes were stored under good conditions.

    I'm at a loss to understand how most (11 of 12) of the tapes are completely unplayable. At this point I'm wondering if there's any hope of recovering the content of the tapes? I also have some VHS tapes from 1991 that play perfectly in my VCR (15years older), which makes me wonder if there was an issue when the TRV30 recorded the tapes. Are mini-DV tapes that unreliable? Any suggestions appreciated,

    Steve
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  2. Use a tape cleaner.
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  3. By tape cleaner, do you mean clean the camera's head, or clean the mini-dv tape? Since the camera has very few hours of use and I am able to play one of the tapes, I wasn't thinking the camera's head could be dirty, misaligned/calibration maybe. Thanks!

    Steve
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  4. Originally Posted by stevenme View Post
    By tape cleaner, do you mean clean the camera's head, or clean the mini-dv tape? Since the camera has very few hours of use and I am able to play one of the tapes, I wasn't thinking the camera's head could be dirty, misaligned/calibration maybe. Thanks!

    Steve
    Yes, the player head of the camcorder not the tape.
    Here's a video

    https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=nL8iUvucH-4

    he had the same problem you're having with playback.
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  5. I'll give it a try, thanks!

    Steve
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  6. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Are you sure the tapes are not HDV or DVCAM ?
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  7. All the tapes I have were recorded on the Sony TRV30. I don't believe I ever modified the default settings (other than enabling Widescreen), but it seems like if something was changed the TRV30 should be able to play whatever it recorded. I wish there was a way to know if there's anything on the tape, meaning even if it's of very poor quality, something would display on the screen other than the blue background. With analog it's easy to tell there's something there (faint picture through snow) but with digital if there's not enough signal you see nothing (blue screen).

    I've considered purchasing one of the Sony DV players on eBay, but there's no guarantee that it would work either. Thanks,

    Steve
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  8. Originally Posted by stevenme View Post
    other than enabling Widescreen
    Is it true or fake widescreen. Camcorder did this fake widescreen trash back these days. The cams simply put black bars into the 4:3 frame. So the resolution left for video got way smaller (height like 1080p) leading to make it worse. lol
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  9. There's nothing in the specs regarding resolution, but I believe widescreen reduces vertical resolution and sets the anamorphic flag so on playback it is stretched to a 16:9 monitor.
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  10. Upload a short sample clip and I can tell you. If it is true widescreen it does not reduce height.
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  11. Member DB83's Avatar
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    I do not see whether a recording is 16:9 or not actually helps the core issue.


    Some 'diagnostic' questions :-


    1. Was the tape that played fine the first tape you tested ?
    2. Did you, inadvertingly, alter anything on the camcorder before you played a 'faulty' tape ? (see Page 29 of the manual re playback settings)
    3. Have you, at any time, played back these tapes on a tv via analog output ?
    4. What happens if you now try playback of these 'faulty' tapes via analog output ?
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  12. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    According to the TRV30 manual, it does widescreen anamorphically, so does not encode bars on the tape, nor reduce the resolution vertically.

    But DB83 is right, that would have NOTHING to do with the issue of playback with bad signal from dirty heads, alignment, etc.
    If the player were different from the recorder, I'd suggest speed compatibility differences (SP vs LP), but if it is the same device...


    Scott
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  13. One more data point to add, I've discovered as I find more tapes to test, that none of the Sony Mini-DV tapes (DVM63) are readable. All but one of the FujiFilm tapes (DVM60) are readable. These are standard 60 minute SP tapes, with the Fuji's being slightly older by a couple of years. So it seems like there may be a quality issue with Sony tapes?

    Steve
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  14. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Any possibility of actually answering the questions ?
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  15. Back when DV was everywhere, I read a lot of posts that some camcorders were very finicky when you changed from one tape formulation to another. I never bought into that, but I did try to stick with one brand (Sony), just in case it was true.

    When you load one of the tapes that doesn't play, and you then fast forward or rewind, does the tape counter change? Sometimes the video on the tape won't appear on the screen, but if there is video on the tape, the camcorder may still be able to track the timecode. If the counter changes, then you know there is video on the tape.

    You could test the compatibility of the tape by fast forwarding all the way to the end, and then rewinding for a few seconds. Then, record five seconds of video and see if you can play back that video.

    Another trick that sometimes works is to press the Play button, wait for the blue screen, and then press the fast forward button so that you play at a speed other than 1x. Like the timecode "trick" this will sometimes reveal video. This will let you know if there is something on the tapes.

    Check the menus and see if blue screen can be turned off. This is a common menu setting on VHS decks, although I don't think my Sony TRV-11 (similar to your TRV-30) has that. However, it is worth checking. By turning off the blue screen, the camcorder will pass a garbage signal to the TV screen. Once again the purpose of this is to determine if the tapes are blank, or not.

    The best solution is to beg/borrow/steal a second miniDV camcorder and try the problem tapes on that.

    BTW, having done a lot of video transfers for other people, I am amazed how many blank tapes I've been given. If they are labeled on the tape cassette itself, then it probably is not blank, but if there is no label on the tape, then you have to consider the possibility that the tape is blank. You have to ignore labeling on the sleeve or box because, of course, any tape can be put into any sleeve.
    Last edited by johnmeyer; 11th Nov 2021 at 13:10.
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  16. 1. Was the tape that played fine the first tape you tested ?
    No, I believe the first tape I tried appeared blank
    2. Did you, inadvertingly, alter anything on the camcorder before you played a 'faulty' tape ? (see Page 29 of the manual re playback settings)
    No, I have not changed any settings and my playback procedure is the same as the manual
    3. Have you, at any time, played back these tapes on a tv via analog output ?
    I first tried playback though the LCD, I figure if it doesn’t display an image nor would the analog or digital output
    4. What happens if you now try playback of these 'faulty' tapes via analog output ?
    I have tried, see 3 above. If you think the LCD would show a blue screen even when the analog has output, I’ll try it
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  17. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Ok. What I meant by 'at any time' means that after the recording I would guess that you would have watched it but not via the camera. Confirm.


    I would also consider johnmeyer's comment but take it one stage further. Take a 'faulty' tape and fast-forward all the way then fast-rewind. The tension on the tape could have been affected.


    I have no idea if Sony manuf. the tapes that beared their name. But with a reputation to keep and using a Sony camcorder one would expect both to be fully compliant.
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  18. Some of the tapes have sticky’s, some are written directly on. Most of the descriptions are events i know I’ve taped, so i would expect they are on one of the tapes even if the sticky was moved. I have tried retensioning the tapes, and i have tried Play then Fast Forward, with the result being a blue screen. There does not appear to be a time code present on the problem tapes.

    I had a Sony tape still wrapped, so i opened it and recorded on it, on playback it was fine. The last thing i could try is to FF to the end, rewind a little and try to record on one of the problem tapes. Thanks for all the ideas!

    Steve
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  19. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    If you want you can send one of your problemtic tapes and I will put it in my Sony pro deck which plays every DV format existed (DV, DVCAM, HDV) including the 24p, 25p and 30p, I will let you know exactly what's going on with the tape.
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  20. Just want to chime in that those tape cleaners are destructive and shouldn't be used. Not sure if that's what was meant by the earlier post. But either way, should only be doing a manual clean with a chamois swab and iso alcohol.

    Also take a peek at my comment here, minidv sucks. Sorry you're having issues.

    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/402827-How-to-Capture-700-Mini-DV#post2628831
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  21. I manually cleaned the head with iso alcohol and I’m still unable to read the problem tapes. I find it strange that the Fujifilm tapes are readable and none of the Sony tapes are. There’s no time code on the Sony tapes, so they weren’t accidentally recorded over. Either they lost magnetic encoding over time (15yrs), or somehow they were exposed to a very strong magnetic field (while in storage). I have recovered a couple of the tapes by locating mp4 files that i ripped back in 2006 so it’s not a total loss.
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  22. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by stevenme View Post
    I manually cleaned the head with iso alcohol and I’m still unable to read the problem tapes. I find it strange that the Fujifilm tapes are readable and none of the Sony tapes are. There’s no time code on the Sony tapes, so they weren’t accidentally recorded over. Either they lost magnetic encoding over time (15yrs), or somehow they were exposed to a very strong magnetic field (while in storage). I have recovered a couple of the tapes by locating mp4 files that i ripped back in 2006 so it’s not a total loss.
    Metal tapes are hard to erase with a magnetic field even with a bulk tape eraser, So you can rule out the magnetic field.
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