DBETA strangeness HELP!

[Jeremy Garchow]

Try resetting your easy setup and try again.

Jeremy

[Mike Miller]

thanks jeremy…but, that didn’t seem to solve it. i also tried restarting my mac, turning the aja off, turning the dbeta deck off, switiching my easy setup to my mini dv deck (which looks fine) and switching back to the dbeta easy setup. still blues are burning to green…i hope my dbeta deck isn’t the problem…?

like i mentioned, it was all good two weeks ago! gremlins?

[Jeremy Garchow]

[mike miller] “gremlins?”

Always.

Are you hooked up SDI? Have you tried component just to test it?

Have you reloaded the AJA drivers?

[Mike Miller]

i am (have always been) hooked up via sdi. i have not tried reloading the aja drivers. looking for a 3rd BNC cable to try the component route…

stay tuned and thanks!

[Mike Miller]

component hook up doesn’t seem to change it…

[Jeremy Garchow]

Cool. I would then uninstall and reinstall the current ioHD drivers and try again. You are sure it’s not the tape, correct?

Jeremy

[Mike Miller]

definitely not the tape, tried several, same result. at this point i’ve got the spots i need going out in fedex to get a 3rd party to make them qtime files for me…i’ll try the uninstall/re-install next.

thanks so much for taking the time. you’re good people!

mike

[Bob Zelin]

abandon this tape. Abandon all tapes.

get a blank or junk tape.
Close FCP.
open up AJA Control Panel
go to control tab, select test pattern/color bars.
Put these color bars into your TV (you do have a TV – right ? even a cheap composite TV ?) – do they look ok ?

Take SDI out from AJA, and record it into the SDI in of your Digi Beta (play and record – hard crash record). Play back the tape on your TV Monitor – even in composite if you only have a cheap TV ? Is it ok ? If it’s not, it’s your Digi Beta VTR ?

If it is ok, take this tape (with the recorded color bars) and stick the SDI out of the digi beta into your AJA I/O. Change AJA Control Panel control tab to INPUT PASSTHOUGH, and your AJA I/O video ouptut to your TV monitor. Play the Digi Beta tape – how do color bars look – are they ok?

DO NOT USE FCP for these tests. Do not use ANYTHING but color bars for these tests. If you dont’ have a simple cheap TV (or a big fancy SDI monitor) to do these tests, then BORROW ONE.

Bob Zelin

[Mike Miller]

hey bob…thank you (and everyone who responded!) for caring!

well, i followed you (excellent) directions and have determined that it must be my dbeta deck.

ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE ON POSSIBLY FIXING THIS MYSELF!? if not, how about a recommendation for tech in the philadelphia area?

i quit FCP, changed the aja control panel to test pattern, bars look good on the sony pvm. crash recorded bars to a dbeta tape via sdi, played tape back on sony monitor, colors go funky.

again, thanks for your help bob…any thoughts on next step, other than looking up a tech?

mike

[Bob Zelin]

you write –
ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE ON POSSIBLY FIXING THIS MYSELF!? if not, how about a recommendation for tech in the philadelphia area?

reply –
you are not going to fix this yourself. I have been doing nothing but video engineering since 1978, and only a fool would screw with a $50,000 VTR. Let me assure you that Sony (201 833 5300) will charge you A LOT OF MONEY to repair your VTR. This is the cost of doing business in the professional video industry. If you do find a freelancer or tech from a local TV station to do this repair for you, it will cost A LOT OF MONEY. Even if your brother was a authorized Sony tech, the parts from Sony will cost A LOT OF MONEY.
I am getting more and more sensitive to everyone on all of these forums wants to spend zero money, and companies like AJA, Blackmagic and others should have their behinds kissed for giving all of us low cost – REALLY LOW COST products that are great. Well, guess what – Sony ain’t one of them. They will screw you, just like they screw everyone, and you know what – you will take it – just like we all take it. Maybe one day the world will be tapeless, but today isn’t that day. And you know what, the HD VTR repairs cost even more.

They will fix your VTR.
201 833 5300.

Bob Zelin