Problems with laying to tape – HD

[Aja Sales department]

S. Dorsey,
The issue you are having may be as simple as a menu item setting for the Sony HDW-F500 VTR (there are quite a few!)… luckily AJA has some notes on that VTR.

Since you don’t specify which Kona card you have in your post, I will give you the URLs which direct you to the whitepaper on setting up the HDW-F500 VTR with a Kona card (the whitepaper you are looking for as a downloadable PDF is entitled “Whitepaper: Sony HDCAM Essentials”):

This document is available from any of the following URLs:
https://www.aja.com/html/support_konaLHe_doc.html
https://www.aja.com/html/support_kona3_doc.html
https://www.aja.com/html/support_kona2_doc.html

If none of the notes on the deck’s configuration seem to resolve the issue for you, simply contact tech support at AJA and they will be glad to offer you further assistance in helping you work with the Kona card and the HDCam VTR. They can be reached at support@aja.com

Thank you

http://www.aja.com

—
AJA Video Systems
+1 (530) 274-2048 Intl.
(800) 251-4224 US
sales@aja.com

[Sdorsey]

It’s an AJA Kona II as far as I can tell.

[Sdorsey]

The Kona 2 link was bad, but I already have the whitepaper, I think,

AJA_whitepaper_sony_f500.pdf

We have the deck set up correctly, as far as I can tell. It just got sent to southern Cal and repaired by Sony. It came back with default settings and I had to use this whitepaper to re-set the deck frequency to 29.97.

This is also the whitepaper we used as reference when we made the PDF I mentioned earlier in this thread.

Assuming the frequency is correct, and that the tape is blacked correctly, I’m not sure what would cause the deck to FFW when I start the lay-off in FCP. I am specifically telling FCP to start the record at 00.58.00.00, and yet something is telling the deck to FFW. The deck is seeing timecode and should be rewinding. god, I hope this is a simple answer!

I’m very confused.

Thanks,

————S

[Sdorsey]

I had blacked my tape starting at 00.57.30.00.

When I open my Edit to Tape window in FCP, and then I FF or RW my tape, I see time code starting at 00.57.30.00 on the HDW-F500 amber display, but I see time code starting at 00.00.00.00 in the TC field in the upper right of the Edit to Tape window.

I am under the impression that these 2 fields should match. It appears that FCP is FFWing the deck because it is using the TC that is located in the Edit to Tape window, and not that on the tape. The tape is only 40 minutes long, so if FCP FFWs the tape, then it will start at 00.00.00.00 and never get to 00.58.00.00 and so it never really is able to start the lay-off.

Make sense?

I need to find out how to make FCP see the TC on the tape, and not use its own.

Still confused, but one step closer.

—————S

[Tj Shank]

SDorsey,

My guess would be the Time Code settings on the VTR. It sounds like you have LTC time code on your blacked tape, but not VITC. The machine looks at one when it is in FF or RW, and the other when it is in play. If you set the machine correctly and restripe the tape, you should be OK.

tjs

[Sdorsey]

I see a VITC (F 10) button on the front of the deck. Is that what I need to set in order to properly restripe the tape? If so, do I set it to TCG or V IN?

Thanks

[Tj Shank]

Here are the settings I use on our HDW-F500.

Push the TC button on the front panel. On the bottom of the display, under “TCG Source”, I select “Int-V”. When I start a stripe, the “TCG Mode” is set to “Prst”, after the stripe is done BE SURE to set it back to “Regen”. On the right is a setting for “VITC” – make sure it is set to “TCG”.

One way to check if your stripe is good is to watch the TC display on the VTR as you go from “Play” to “Shuttle” to “Fast Forward”. The display should be showing a constant TC rather than one that changes from, say, 1 hour TC to 0 hour TC.

HTH,

tjs

[Gary Adcock]

[sdorsey] “It came back with default settings and I had to use this whitepaper to re-set the deck frequency to 29.97. “

Make sure to set the frame type also ( pSf or interlace)

“Assuming the frequency is correct, and that the tape is blacked correctly, I’m not sure what would cause the deck to FFW when I start the lay-off in FCP. I am specifically telling FCP to start the record at 00.58.00.00, and yet something is telling the deck to FFW. “

Sounds as if you using assemble rather than inset edit.
inset works better for this issue IMHO.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Sdorsey]

Well,

I tried all that – but now when I try to black the tape, it gives a message “Warning 02 – lost lock”.

So now something else is wrong.

I think I’m going to need to consult a forum specific to this deck. I think I’m wasting the time of this forum. Does anyone know where I can post for a Sony HDW-F500?

Thanks,

——————S

[Sdorsey]

I’m definitely doing an insert edit.

When we archive, we black an entire tape with time code. Then we lay off each project and write down title, TRT, and TC location on the tape for easy reference. So when we’re archiving, everything is an insert edit.

——————S