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DSR11 DVCam Tape Deck Problem
There was a TC break on a tape I was capturing yesterday using the Capture Now function in FCP. Apparently the tape was pretty messed up in general, perhaps it was damaged… I don’t know. Once the deck got past the TC break, there were four or five wide bright pink bars showing up on top of the video that weren’t on top of the video when I previously viewed the footage.
I ejected the tape and put a different tape in the deck to make sure the deck wasn’t messed up, but the bright pink bars are now everpresent on top of the video. I turned off the deck and let it sit overnight, then started it up again this morning – same problem. Is this something I can fix, or do I need to get my deck repaired? -
2 Replies
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If you see the problems playing off the tape directly to a video monitor,
it MIGHT be a head-clog (although PINK BARS don’t sound too familiar).If you know how to “wet clean” the heads, carefully do so.
If not, you can try a DV head-cleaning tape (they can be found most anywhere DV tapes are sold.)Load up the DV head-cleaner and play it for ONLY about 5-7 SECONDS.
Then, eject the cleaner and try to play a known-good tape in the deck and see if the problem is gone.If not, repeat the head-cleaner tape for 5-7 seconds again.
Check the good tape for playback.Hope this clears the problem.
Otherwise, an authorized service tech is the next step.FWIW, you can choose to Capture using ANY DV camcorder (even home-video, if its a miniDV tape). The quality will be identical to using any DV deck.
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Try running a head cleaning tape through the DSR-11. If the tape was old and reused many times as you described chances are it was shedding oxide and sounds as if it has clogged your heads. With the cost of tape stock so low it really isn’t worth recycling them.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production
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