Recover timestamp from Canon MV890 minidv tapes

[Fnibble]

Hi. I have an old Canon MV890 with minidv tapes being transferred to computer drive. The timestamp was not used on these tapes. Is there any timestamp info on these tapes that can be recovered? Is there any upload software that will automatically break each clip into a seperate file? Thanks

[timtape]

Are you transferring them via a DV Firewire connection? The old Win DV and (I believe) Scenalizer can be installed to capture DV tapes directly with timestamps included. They can be captured as as one large file per tape, or as individual shots with timestamps.

[Alwyn]

Scenalyzer will split on timestamps. Have a look at my guide here. After you install it, scroll down to "Post Capture".

[Fnibble]

Win DV does not run on my win7 and scenalyser cannot detect when the camera has been turned on and off/ or filming paused. I have given up on trying to split the tape. HOWEVER, is there any information on the tape telling the original date and time of filming if the original timestamp function on the camera was not activated? When I transfer the tapes from the camera, it marks the current date as that of filming. Thanks

[timtape]

Again, if you want to capture the date of shooting and scene info you must transfer via the camera's DV socket, not the AV. Are you doing that? If you havent already, please read the Owners Manual, pages 63 and 65.

[Alwyn]

@Fnibble, sorry, you gave the impression that you'd already captured your tapes and wanted to split them.

Reading between the lines, by "timestamps" do you mean the date and time visible on the recording? If so, the tape will still have the date/time data on it even with the visual/menu displayed date and time switched off. But as Timtape says, to get the date/time data embedded into your file, you need to transfer via Firewire.

WinDV (and Scenalyzer) should work with Win 7, but they only work with Firewire. If you don't have your camera connected to your PC via Firewire, they won't see it.

[Fnibble]

Hi timtape I am downloading the tapes from the MV890 via the DV port to a Iee1394-1 card on a win7 machine using scenalyser. Nowhere can I find the record date and time. When originally shot the datestamp function was not enabled in the menu settings, though the correct time was set in the camera, and when the machine plays back the tapes to the screen, even with the data stamp display now enabled, nothing shows except the running time top right. It looks like you have to have specifically enabled that function for the date to be marked to the tapes???

[timtape]

OK, I havent used Scenalyzer, only Win DV and some video editing programmes. Alwyn knows about Scenalyzer and should chime in soon.

Cheers Tim

[Alwyn]

@Fnibble, you won't be able to get burned-in timestamps when you do your capture/transfer, but after you have done the transfer, vDTS is what you want (see -JN-s post below). Good control over everything you need eg font, size, position, time on screen. Example snapshot attached.

The trial accepted a 1min 4sec DV file but not a 3min 40sec file.


[Attachment 87595 - Click to enlarge]

[timtape]

On editing in DV/AVI, I believe that editing doesnt require any recompression so long as the file remains AVI. This means there is no picture or sound degradation re the original, and of course much faster rendering times.

[Alwyn]

On editing in DV/AVI, I believe that editing doesnt require any recompression so long as the file remains AVI. This means there is no picture or sound degradation re the original, and of course much faster rendering times.

Tim, yes, that is correct.

[JN-]

Try vDTS Visual DV Time stamp.
https://www.videohelp.com/software/Visual-DV-Time-Stamp

Trial can only use short clips.

[Alwyn]

JN-

[Alwyn]

Having a play with both ( DVDate and vDTS), they can achieve much the same result; contrary to my earlier post, DVDate will "inlay" the subtitle directly so need for SRT files.

There's a slight colour tinge between some of the characters on the DVDate title but that could be an encoding issue on my computer.

vDTS can name the output files using the timecode, which is very handy for sorting.

One thing I noticed with vDTS: it produced a DV-AVI which my NLE, Magix, couldn't open without being run through DVDate to convert it to DV Type 1 then back to 2. The MediaInfo was identical except that the vDTS file had a writing library of VDub2. It must have found my VDib2 because I don't think it installed it's own copy.

[Fnibble]

I am sorry, all, but I really do not understand.
I have old tapes that I transfer from an MV890 which was NOT originally set to produce date stamping. When I play the resulting avi? files, there is no time (original filming date) stamp anywhere visible, whatever I do. If there is one it must be encoded somewhere I cannot find it. People keep telling me there is a time stamp, but where is it? Scenalyser does not seem to show anything, and when I replay the tapes ON THE MV890 the date-stamp position shows in the bottom right corner, but it only consists of dashes. Is there a miniDV standard datestamp in these encoding? Thanks

[Alwyn]

"Datestamping" was you call it is separate to the timecode embedded in the tape data.

One way to tell if the tape has embedded timecode is to open it in Scenalyzer then attempt to split the clips as per my guide here (at the bottom of the page). If Scenalyzer can't split on "Datestamps", your tape doesn't have any embedded timecode.

Another test is to open the file in Scenalyzer ie open the folder holding the file, click anywhere along the clip and check the if any date code is displayed:


[Attachment 87603 - Click to enlarge]

If there's timecode on the tape and therefore in the DV file, it will be shown: the date and time for that frame. If there's nothing there, then I think you're out of luck.

[JN-]

“even with the data stamp display now enabled”


I take it that by comment #7. that you have enabled to display in playback mode the date/time as per page 56 (Displaying the Data code) in camera manual?


[Attachment 87612 - Click to enlarge]

[Alwyn]

I've just fired up my MV-800 (probably similar).

1. You can't turn on or enable the timecode to be recorded onto the tape data; it is automatically put on the tape. Nothing you can do to stop it.

2. Following JN's info in post #17, once you have enabled the Data Code function in the menu, when you play your tape in the camcorder, pressing the DATA CODE button will display the shot date and time in the bottom left corner of the screen, replacing the dashes.

3. When capturing/transferring via Firewire, the DATA CODE button is inoperative; it makes no difference to the data code (containing the shot date and time). That will be embedded in the file by design. Nothing on the camera's screen is transferred, only the actual video.

4. After transfer, Scenalyzer will display the shot date and time as I show in post #16.

5. You can "burn in" the date and time using vDTS.

Should be clear as mud now!

[JN-]

Indeed. I re-discovered this a while back ... Nothing on the camera's screen is transferred, only the actual video.

[JN-]

Several years ago, without knowing of vDST I did it the hard way. With date/Time toggled to displaying on dv cameras lcd screen I played complete tape and used GH5 to video record lcd screen.

I then loaded original dv file without DT and GH5 recorded file with DT into Vegas Pro. Since I was rendering out then to mp4 I added in the time code as required.

[Alwyn]

JN, a good effort. The things we do...