[Jonathan Fowler]

HI Jim,

Well, I was able to find a solution though you may find it residing in the grey area of acceptable. I spoke with various depo videographers in many states and scoured the guidelines for the state I was in (I have since moved on to non-fiction, web based production of the documentary genre – but shooting depos paid the bills in a rough time for freelancing and was certainly an interesting experience).

I am guessing you are using an HVX? Similar later models do allow burning of date/time stamp into the image directly – as do older tape-based cams. First – there is absolutely no way to get a stamp onto the P2 cards in camera (or burned into the tape, for that matter). Of course there could be a highly complicated hack if you’re of the engineer mindset – but I couldn’t go there.

There was one way to tweak the OSD settings such that the output going to another recording device (e.g. DVD recorder) DOES show the date/time stamp. All other portions of the display need to be turned off to pull this off. But, the placement, if I recall was not adjustable and nearly 1/3 into the frame, vertically and only slightly off-centered. Not ideal. Also, I found no way of recording (to p2 as a backup – even without the stamp) without the red indicator also mucking up the frame.

This is what I did: video out directly to a Horita SCT-50 generator. The format of the date/time generated is customizable – I think over 20 presets. And one can position the stamp where you chose (just within title-safe, of course). There was a limit of 20 characters/line if I recall, but I was able to get it all in.

No need to record anything to p2/tape, as the stamp would be added in post. First, I do see a distinction of adding something in post vs. downsteam in the output, live. My thoughts were this… if the camera could output a stamp natively something physical (a chip in the cam) must be creating it. I see no real reason why that is different than an external generator. Either could fail. Yes, there is a cable going from cam to generator – but there would be a signal going from the sensor to the chip in the camera as well. So failure is possible regardless. (If you opened the case of the cam and “installed” the generator, pulling from the cam power, then covered inside a modded cam body case, would that make it “internal” and somehow less prone to failure or manipulation? Not at all.

With the right input and adapters, one can output redundant streams to multiple generators (e.g. one S-video, one component, and yet another composite if you really want redundancy). Then on to your recorder of choice (DVD recorder, Ninja, or any other trusty capture device). At the end of the day, you have to deal with the law of diminishing returns. Nothing is fail safe. Your cam could always die and that would be the end of it. You could have 2 cams. But both might crap out. Highly unlikely, but possible. And no one I know shoots with 2 cams unless it’s for another specific reason.

Sorry for the long message, but I wish I had gotten a thorough response months ago when I was trying to sort this all out. Hope this helps. (And should you run into troubles, this is obviously just my 2 cents – not legal counsel here!)

[Jonathan Fowler]

Thanks Michael –

You are right that I essentially have the workflow sorted – though I posted hoping that someone might have a more elegant solution (Or know of a DVD Recorder that burns a time/date stamp – or know a way to turn off the REC indicator in the HVX’s OSD, etc.)

As for the equipment – I honestly could not find a review for the stamp generator I have my eye on… from GonzoModz.

I have scoured the net on all of the relevant forums, etc., for a solution, but I’ve only been able to piece together bits from different sources – no one has discussed a situation as specific mine.

As for the DA, I wish you were right about no need for one… but the DVD Recorder I just purchased and have been planning to use (Sony VRD-MC5) has no output. SO if I do go the route of stamp generator to 2 DVD-R’s I would need a DA?

Thanks for responding… all of your hunches are correct.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Thanks Samuel. Your suggestion worked. Now I’m just left (well, after a lengthy render) with printing to tape.

I’ve tested this using my HVX. I can get FCP to recognize the camera… that is, I can get to the point where I can view the FCP timeline on the LCD. But, when I try to print to video I’m not able to start recording on the tape. One would think that I’ve set things up such that I can select the “automatically start recording” option, but that is grayed out. There must be a way to do this… probably something very simple.

Of course I can always find another place to print to tape (I’ve done as much with cheap generic consumer cams in the past), but would love to know how to do this with the HVX.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Thanks for the advice, Tom. Will do ASAP – sucks to have to learn things like this the hard way, but now I know.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Wiped my drive, reinstalled Tiger… and the cards mount with no issue. Definitely a pain in the ass, but the only solution. Thanks Shane.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Ok… cards mount fine on another MBP via the Duel Adapter. And the Contents are all there. Not the cards, not the adapter. Looks like I’m wiping my drive?

[Jonathan Fowler]

I have tried it on another MBP, but only briefly. No mounting then, but I have had the Duel Adapter act finicky before, so I’m not convinced until I give it another try.

Thanks for the advice so far.

[Jonathan Fowler]

Thanks Shane. My obvious next move, before I resort to wiping my drive (please no), is to try mounting the cards on yet another computer. If they don’t mount there, that would rule out my MBP/OS as the culprit. But still doesn’t address the empty Contents glitch when viewed through Finder. I was also considering hunting down a PC and running P2Card Format Station. I can’t get the P2Formatter for Mac to work, even when I mount the cards through the camera. But you seemed to think the cards weren’t the issue. Quite the riddle.

Another FYI is that this issue (the empty Contents glitch) happened a few weeks after I sent my HVX to Panasonic to repair that damn Slot 1 beep in the audio. Not sure if that’s relevant but maybe a clue?

[Jonathan Fowler]

yes… restarted countless times. reinstalled all the latest p2 and duel adapter drivers as well. repaired disk permissions and also verified through disk utility. so i’ve tried all the basics.