[Jeff David]

Thanks. I see. You have a professional set-up that took years to develop and probably have invested thousands. That is something for me to strive for but currently, I am on a shoestring budget and only an amateur who has never sold anything. This is my first project, although it’s gone on for 5 years because I frequently have no time to work on it.
I see now that the USB3.0 is inferior to the extensive set-up you have but for us mere mortals and paupers – it is better than ethernet so I will have to use it for now. The point is that usb3.0 is an improvement over ethernet. And I was excited cause I got the USB 3.0 but us inferiors have to make due and hope we can muddle through and get things done. There’s been so many technical snafus’s and computer issues it has me somewhat down on wanting to be a producer of documentaries. I don’t think technology has been perfected yet.
I use a firewire to get the footage from my camcorder into my computer. I did not know it could be used for editing.
Thanks for your help Grazie!

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

I see. I guess what you are referring to is superior to usb 3.0 and of course usb 3.0 is superior to ethernet. Do you mind if I ask – how much does the setup you have cost? Probably more than the $105 I spent on the USB 4 terabyte 3.0 usb. If I had the budget for more expensive set up like yours, I would definitely buy what you have but I’m guessing it’s costly and right now all that was in the budget was the $105 usb 3.0. Although it would be nice to have what you have, I can probably get by with the usb 3.0 for now. At least it’s a step up from the ethernet cloud drive.

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

I posted a similar post on this before but in that instance, the project was opening – it was just taking a long time.

I made this separate post as this time – the project was not opening at all.

So it was not repetitive – i.e. – taking a long time to open vs. not opening at all.

In the first instance, it may be because I was going through the ethernet to my external Seagate cloud storage.

In my second post – it would not open – possibly because I had a corrupted clip.

I just realized – I can look at my media files and if there is still a corrupted clip – there will be the corrupted clip icon thingy.

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

I don’t understand, if you are not using USB3 then what are you using?

What’s wrong with usb 3? I was told that is the way to go as the transfer speed is faster and it’s not going through an ethernet which limits the speed. I was not aware there were other methods/devices that could be used???? What else can be used?

I am not sure if deleting the clip is what allowed the program to open. Project A which I was trying to open – simply would not open even though I had waited a long time. I opened Project B without any problem and deleted one clip from it off of my hard drive. I don’t even know if that same clip was in Project A or if it was a coincidence but Project A seemed to open about the same time – after having stalled out for a long period of time at the 42% mark.

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

The previous file of the project, opened eventually but it took a long time. Other files open so its something to do w that particular file.

I just bought a USB 4 terabyte 3.0 usb external drive. I was previously advised using the Seagate Personal cloud drive was not the way to go as the ethernet connection slows the transfer of the data. That may be why it takes so long to open.

I am not sure how you find a corrupt file unless you just see the notice icon that the file is corrupted. I think there’s a little icon that denotes that – can’t describe it.

I did delete one clip – not sure if that was what fixed it. ??

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

Thanks!

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

Below is a discussion I found. It addresses some of the issues of drop outs.
They also talk about buying higher quality tapes. The only tapes I’ve ever seen are Sony DVC at Walmart for about $15-$20 for a 3 pack. Each time I go to Walmart I’m worried they won’t be selling them anymore. I’m usually luck if there are any on the shelf. There is usually only one or two on the shelf.
Following is the discussion:
______________________________________________________________________________
I’m about to purchase a whole lot of miniDV tapes for my soon-to-be-delivered A1.
I know I can use any miniDV, but the question is…should I?
The miniDV HD tapes that claim higher quality are way more expensive (probably not worth it?)
I’m also wondering which panny tapes use their new S-AME coating, I’ve heard that’s the best.
______________________________________________________________________________
They are as neccessary as MONSTER CABLES are for your home theater.
Take that how you want. *smile*
Here’s the deal: with tape, the potential of dropouts exists. With better tape, you’re supposed to get fewer dropouts. With lower quality tape, the potential of dropouts should be higher. Not that it always works out that way, but that’s the way it should be.
_________________________________________________________________________________
With HDV, dropouts are far more devastating than they ever were with DV. With DV, a dropout might corrupt a few small blocks on a frame. With HDV you’re looking at losing a half-second of your footage (on the Sony version) or having corruption smear through 1/4 second of your footage (on JVC). Don’t know what happens to Canon when they get a dropout.
If what you’re shooting is important, then prudence would dictate that you use the best tape you can get your hands on. Every aspect of what you’re doing — every dime you pay for actors, props, sets, wardrobe, locations, equipment rental, time, energy, money, effort — it all comes down to what gets recorded on that tape.
So do you really want to go saving an extra dollar on that tape?
That’s up to you, obviously. But if I were shooting HDV, I wouldn’t consider using anything but the best tape I could get my hands on.
I’ve mostly been shooting on cheap DV tapes with no problems, but in theory the HDV tapes are far more resistant to dropouts. As Barry said, if you’re shooting something important where you won’t get a second take, why take the risk of a half-second dropout in order to save a few dollars?

Otherwise though, $2 DV tapes are probably good enough… I’ve shot dozens of them with no dropouts so far. Sooner or later it is going to happen though, and you don’t want it to destroy footage you can’t replace.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
What causes dropouts and is there any way to avoid it? Do the Canons only take Canon tapes?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dropouts happen for all sorts of unpredictable reasons. It can be due to a tiny fleck of oxide flaking off the tape, for example. When that bit of magnetic material falls off, the data that was on that bit goes too. Or it can happen repeatedly if a bit gets stuck to the record head or something. Dust can cause it too.
It’s not that dropouts are all that common, it’s just that the severity of a dropout is much worse with HDV because if any dropout hits, an entire group of pictures gets impacted.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I’ve experienced a few dropouts with the XL-H1, but they’ve only been of the playback variety. Strangely enough, these “dreaded HDV dropouts” have been corrected on second or third playback passes with all the frames recovered and captured. In other words, that 1/2 second pause known as an HDV dropout will often not be there playing the tape back a second or third time.
Just practice good tape hygiene and you’ll be fine. (stick with one brand)
I recommend using good quality DV tapes like the Panasonic MQ’s. (as low as $5 a tape) No problems for me thus far.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Just bought 20 panny MQ’s as a matter of fact!
Also, as far as changing tape brands – it really only exists when one of your brands is Sony, doing some research I found a chart that shows all brands are *dry* but sony is *wet*. This wetness cuases gumming up when followed by a *dry* brand. But you should have no problems switching from Panny to JVC or Fuji (they are all nearly identical)
The Panny MQs are good because they have a higher density of magnetic material on the tape, and have a smoother surface (saves heads over longer time)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Sony switched to dry 7 years ago. there are no more wet tapes.

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

I was searching the internet for other info on “drop outs” and found this advice which might pertain.

“I don’t know if this is true anymore but in the old days magnetic tapes should never be stored after the last operation was a playback (since you needed to rewind I guess that this was the case) as the tape was stored in tension and could produde sound lower in pitch due to the stretch…

The last operation were always to be full (re-)wind of the whole tape to ease the tension of the throughout its length. (Audio tapes should alwas be stored at full playout to minimize tape echo occuring before the recorded event).

Since the tape is secured at the take-up spool I can only assume that the stretch/tension is at its worst there and eases the tension after some length of tape…

If the strech is severe enough (think very small tolecances here!) then the camera can’t track the tape properly since its dimensions are not within the correct tolerances anymore and therefor unable to correctly record its data.

Combine this with tapes that may have been exposed to heat (i.e. out in the sun, stored near a heater…) then you have all the ingredients needed for your type of problem.”

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

Is there any way to prevent drop outs or are the tapes doomed in the long run?

Is there a best way to store them so as to prolong them as long as possible?

How serious are drop outs? Do they corrupt the entire 60 minutes of the tapes?

or

Am I correct to assume only certain portions would be ruined?

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.

[Jeff David]

Thanks John. I understand now. Good stuff!

Lenovo quad core i7 16gb of ram, Windows 8.1 MS 13 64 bit Thumbnail is view out of the Olde North Church window where the signal lanterns were hung, as in, \”1 if by land 2 if by sea\” looking across the Charles River to the Charlestown Naval Yard where rebels awaited the signal April 18th, 1775.