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HDCam issue
OK, remember in the last post where I said I could digitize the HDCam without a problem? Well, that’s not really the case. This happened on another project I worked on with HDCam and someone told me that HDCam is notorious for timecode breaks. From my experience, they weren’t kidding. I hit “Capture Now” and can get about three seconds at the most before it starts “looking for timecode break.” I can’t digitize without timecode since I’m digitizing at DV res and will need all the data for the online. Am I going to have to have all the tapes converted so they have a more reliable timecode?
Thanks,
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21 Replies
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Log & capture instead of capture now.
Jeremy
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Same problem. It starts to digitize, but it’s still reading the timecode and hitting the “breaks” (breaks that I can’t see). Has anyone else run into this problem? I think it has to do with when you record in free run TC on the cameras. It’s all part of Sony’s strategy to drive me insane, I’m starting to believe.
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What capture device and easy setup are you using? What’s your framerate and codec you are digitizing to and from?
Jeremy
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The deck is the J-H3. With the Kona Easy Setup for 1080i 29.97 DVCPro HD, but I altered it to capture using the DV/DVCPRO-NTSC compressor. I’ve done this sort of thing plenty of times, but never with master raw footage and more often with D5 than HDCam. I’m thinking that the timecode on the tapes is useless and I’m going to have to have them all converted to tapes with a solid TC source. I just don’t want to do that and then have the same problem. But if this is a common thing, that may be what I have to do.
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Try using the Kona DV easy setup, the Kona card will automatically read your 1080i input and put a downconvert on that SDI input. You should also double check the capture setting and make sure it’s set to sony VTR and not Panasonic VTR.
Jeremy
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Good idea, but same damn problem. It just won’t do it. I have it set so that, on hitting a timecode break, it will make a new clip, but for whatever reason, when it looks for the timecode break, it can’t find it. It just looks and looks and looks and then gives up. By all indications, it’s not breaking timecode. Play it frame by frame and you don’t see it. But when you just hit play, the little LTC light flickers.
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Aha! Do you have reference going to the deck?
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I have the “Ref in” to the card plugged in to the “SYNC” port on the back of the deck. I don’t have any external sync though.
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Pull that plug as you are feeding misinformation to your deck and to the Kona. Open your Kona control panel and set the ref to freerun.
Jeremy
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Damn. Nothing. Still didn’t work. I’m posting on the HD High-End forum, too. So far, no other ideas.
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