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Where can I have damaged DVCPro tapes repaired in SoCal?
I have a client’s DVCPro50 tape that when it was time to capture, I realized the tape was twisted, and sticking a bit out of the cartridge. I didn’t want to risk putting it in a deck for fear of causing more damage.
Are there any locations that will repair tapes like this? It isn’t terribly damaged, and the client wants to play it safe since they have no duplicates.
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4 Replies
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Is it at the beginning ?
If so, open the lid (there is a tiny release tab on the side, near the door) and use a pencil eraser on the hub underneeth the cassette to roll the tape back onto the take up reel. If you don’t fully understand what I am saying, take it to a production company nearby. It would help quite a bit if you gave a little more info on where you are instead of saying SoCal. Are you in LA or Tijuana?This is why one should NEVER eject a tape when it is in the middle of the reel. Always rewind to the beginning, except, of course, when removing the tape at the end of your shoot.
You should also take a good look at the machine that caused the problem. This can be an isolated event but tape machines have been doing this ever since the invention of the cassette.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, ArizonaIt’s a dry heat!
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I am located just north of Los Angeles…so anywhere in the southern california region would be fine for me.
I received the tape as is from the client. I was about to capture, opened it up, saw some tape sticking out from the cartridge,…I opened it up, wound the tape a bit just so it wouldn’t pop out,…and then let it be.
While I’m comfortable messing around with the tape,…the client is not comfortable with taking any chances, which is why I was wondering if there was a formal repair process that would leave the tape in a condition where it was less likely to get caught or have any major issues.
thanks again for your response.
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If the tape is not cut or severely damaged you should be able to wind it onto the take up reel well past the suspect spot and then gently play it once while you are doing an SDI protection master dub.
Set up both machines in advance and test out the dubbing system with another tape so you minimize the time the damaged time is in the machine.
I have done emergency protection masters from damaged tapes in the past and this techinque works fine.
The important thing to remember is not to playback the damaged section as you could damage the vtr’s heads.
So make a note of the timecode location of the damaged section and post that on the damaged tape face.
The note should say WARNING DO NOT REWIND OR PLAYBACK BEFORE (timecode location) DUE TO TAPE DAMAGE.
Good luck,
Tony Salgado
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We do repair on all formats of tape cassettes, from re-packaging to splices. Call (310) 822-8491, or visit https://www.montroseinc.com
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