DSR-11 Capturing Artifacts – Can’t figure this one out – Please help

[Aaron Neitz]

Are they recording to tape with the DV mode or DVCAM mode? I know on our DSR-1500 you can select either (not sure what the difference is, except DVCAM you can edit-to-tape with and would assume is more reliable than plain DV.)

[Bryce Leverich]

That is a darn good question… That would explain why it happens on some editor’s tapes and not others… Also, some are using Final Cut to print to tape, while others are using avid xpress… Would a different NLE cause this problem? I can see why the record mode would cause problems, but the glitches are so small and so random. It seems like the record mode would make a more “noticable” difference. Thanks for the tip, I will contact the editors and see what they are up to…

~CameraShy

[Joe Paolo]

It also could be your buddies’ deck is worn out. Since you got a new one with the same issues, that would cast the blame elsewhere. See if other folks are having trouble with his masters. Maybe you could sell him a used DSR-11.

joe

joe

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

DV and DVCAM are identical (in quality) formats.

The only practical difference is that the tape is pulled past the heads faster in DVCAM.

It can mean that the space between the “head-swipes” (tracking) is wider and easier for decks with misaligned heads to read.

[Rennie Klymyk]

One more possibility is if they are recording in LP from a consumer camera. Only consumer cameras and I think those clamshell decks record in LP mode which gives you 80 or 90 minutes on a 1 hour tape instead of 60/40. The dsr-11 won’t play them.

[David Bogie]

> Now, it seems almost everytime I capture a tape I get random artifacting on the final captured file. < You will need to describe random. If you capture the same clip more than once and the glitch is randomly located on your capture, there's something wrong with your deck or your capturing process. (Might be dirt on the tape that is moving around but not likely.) If the glitch appears in the same place on the captured file each time you capture it, it's obviously on the tape. If it's on the tape, there's nothing you can do except demand a new copy of the tape. bogiesan This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[Bryce Leverich]

When I say random, yes, I mean it is not on the master. But here is my problem, like I stated in the original post I do not think it is my deck because: a.) this is the second deck that has given me problems b.) it is a brand new deck (less than a month old) c.) I have no problems what-so-ever digitizing RAW tapes (tapes that came straight from a shoot)

So I assume there must be some sort of problem with it coming of of the editors’ machines. Just for kicks, can someone post their capture settings they use when capturing DVcam video. The tapes I usually use are the large shell 94’s. Here are my settings if this helps:

DSR-11 using NTSC
29.97 FPS
DV/DVCPRO – NTSC using best quality
24 bits per pixel
720 x 480
input: first two channels
format: 48.000 kHz 16-bit 2-chan

I don’t know if this helps…

~CameraShy

[Rennie Klymyk]

Your settings look fine.
I had 2 PD-100 dvcam cameras. Tapes recorded in one camera wouldn’t play in the other camera and vis-versa (had the same problem you describe). My dsr-11 and dsr-85 would also only play one of the cameras tapes. I isolated the camera but oddly, you could record in it and capture from it with out a hitch. Find out how many hours are on the drum from the other editor, I’ll bet the heads are worn enough to only work in that deck only. The fact that you’ve tried 2 different decks and your current one is fairly new would point to the other editor’s deck. 1500 hours is typical of head overhaul with this type of gear as I recall. It could also be a tape speed issue with his deck. The only thing is he should be having problems with tapes recorded in other devices too.