HD & DVCAM

[Randall Raymond]

Sony mentions that every 2-3 years the laser must be replaced – do they mention in the manual a ‘laser-time’ in hours for replacement – does the camera keep a record of that time – equivalent to drum-time?

I imagine the laser burns wider and wider pits until it effects the next track on the disk. Then it must be replaced.

I think I also read somewhere that the replacement is a do-it-yourself operation with a fairly inexpensive calibration tool.

[Timothy Duncan]

3,000 hours is what Sony says for the camera. Since it is the same laser as 10,000 plus XDCAM units already in the field, this should be pretty accurate.

td