A few basics

[Mark-P]

1. What does it mean to shut the shutter off? What is this actually doing?
2. When using a tape, what is LP mode?
3. regarding connecting external mics: what does it mean by the input level for the line is 0 dBu and the input level for the mic is -50dBu?
What do these values represent?

Thanks in advance.

[Daniel J]

1. the shutter is not moving anymore
2. lp is long play i believe. the other option is sp or standar play i think. lp lets you record say 90min on a 60min tape but with less quality. i wouldn't do it unless you had an emergency.
3. i am not sure, but i would guess that has something to do with a mic or line level signal. if this one doesn't get answered then you should ask it again on the sound forum by itself.

[bosindy]

you can't shut the shutter off on the HVX it defaults to 1/60 in 60i and 1/50 in 24p or 30p when u turn it "off."

[Daniel J]

Thanks for the correction bosindy

[THoff]

lp lets you record say 90min on a 60min tape but with less quality.There is no difference in quality between SP and LP mode.

In LP mode, the tape moves slower and records the data more densely, which increases the changes of dropouts, the equivalent of a read error on a hard drive. Using Mastering Quality tapes with a high signal-to-noise ratio reduces the changes of dropouts, but LP will always have a higher rate than SP does.

Regarding the audio question, the signal will normally peak at 0db and anything louder than that will clip.

[Dick Campbell]

There is no difference in quality between SP and LP mode. True, but you should also be aware that there is no industry standard for LP mode like there is for SP. What this means is that your LP tape is not guaranteed to play correctly in any compatible camcorder, except the one that made the tape.