Remove timecode offset in trimmer?

[Douglas Spotted eagle]

The “remove timecode” script is for removing the window burn, not actually stripping T/C from the file.
You’d need to offset the file at the beginning of the recording, as Vegas generates T/C for analog incoming files. Essentially, it’s the same as recording from a zeroed camcorder.

Douglas Spotted Eagle
VASST

Certified Sony Vegas Trainer
Aerial Camera/Instructor

[Paul Goelz]

Thanks, that is what I figured was wrong. But….. how do I deal with it? I can re-capture but I can’t find any way to zero the timecode display prior to beginning the capture for instances like this. For that particular capture, the time at the beginning of the capture was non-zero before I started and nothing I could do would make it go back to zero…. not even closing the application and re-starting. I didn’t unplug and replug the ADVC-55 though…. is it the culprit? Remember, I’m capturing from VHS and there is no incoming timecode.

What is the recommended workflow here….. I play and rewind a couple times before capture to find the entry point for the capture. This seems to result in a non-zero time display that I can’t zero.

Paul

[John Rofrano]

I didn’t unplug and replug the ADVC-55 though…. is it the culprit?

Actually, that is the solution. You don’t have to unplug it, just turn it off and on again (although I have the ADVC-300 so the ADVC-55 might not have an on/off switch). These units just generate continuous timecode from the time you turn them on becasue they capture analog to DV and DV requires that timecode be present.

This is an issue because I made a spreadsheet with all the shots and timings on each capture and I assumed the time started at zero at the beginning of each capture.

So add two columns to your spreadsheet called “Tape Start Time” and “Tape Actual Time”. Then input the starting timecode of each tape into “Tape Start Time” and create a formula in the “Tape Actual Time” column that adds the tape start time to the time you logged giving you the new timecode to look for in the trimmer.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Paul Goelz]

Actually, I don’t think it is quite that simple. Not all my captures result in non-zero starting timecode but I play short sections at the beginning of each capture to find the beginning. And the ADVC-55 is continuously powered whenever the PC is on. I’ll have to do some experimentation to see what triggers the beginning of timecode. Perhaps it is the first captured (ie., recorded) frame after turn on?

Yeah, I’ve already done the spreadsheet thing to offset everything by the starting timecode. Just hoping for a better solution.

I take it there is no way to make the trimmer ignore the recorded timecode and start from zero at the beginning of the file? If not, the next time I make up a shot list I’ll do it in the trimmer instead of dropping the file onto the timeline. That way, I’ll get the actual recorded timecode.

BTW, unrelated question…. there was a damaged section on one of the tapes that resulted in a large number of skips in the captured file. The capture application did not flag these as dropped frames although they clearly were dropped. Is a dropped frame one that was captured but not actually transferred to the file (ie., a firewire error rather than a frame that was never captured due to synch issues)? This was a capture from a Panasonic AG-1970 with TBC off. With TBC on, the entire frame wiggles back and forth during capture (but not on a video monitor). Seems opposite from what I would expect with a TBC. The AG-1970 was purchased used in perfect condition but there might be a problem with the TBC….

Paul

[John Rofrano]

Dropped frames are frames that could not be captured to the file usually because your PC or hard drive could not respond fast enough to store them. You can capture again to recover them. What you have might be dropouts on the tape. These are caused by a number of things including dirty heads or poor quality or damaged tapes. These usually cannot be recovered by recapture because the heads simply never recorded the data to tape in the first place.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Paul Goelz]

OK, that makes sense. I was originally thinking dropped frames might also refer to a frame that did not arrive when the capture device expected it.

What I have in this case are second generation dubs of 3/4″ U-matic originals, from 1982. I don’t know where the problem occurred, but in one section there is massive sync disruption. This caused the ADVC-55 to skip a number of frames. I saw it happen during capture and it affected the analog monitor too so I was expecting it. Just was curious why the capture device reported zero dropped frames is all.

TKS
Paul