Is this dropout?

[bustak]

As I've mentioned in other threads I use the Panasonic AY-DVM83MQ tapes w/ my Canon HV20 & XH A1.

Well I shot some stuff of a Death Metal band this weekend using my Canon XH A1, & when I went to capture the footage I got this in a couple of frames (maybe more, haven't seen all the footage yet):

The interesting thing about the 3rd capture is if you notice there are 2 different shots in that frame, well those 2 shots aren’t that close to each other time wise, maybe 5 seconds apart. So I’m not sure how it got there.

I'm not sure if this is drop out, because I went back to capture it again (I use HDVSplit on my PC) & I didn't get those crappy frames.

The last time I had ever experienced drop-out was w/ my old Sony Hi-8 Handycam 12 years ago. If this was drop-out it'd mess up every time I play that portion of video correct?

My XH A1 has probably less than 4 hours of recording time, & my HV20 probably has 25 hours of recording time, & 10 hours of playback time. Do you think it's time to clean the heads on my HV20, I thought the rule of thumb was 50 hours before cleaning the heads?

If I should clean the heads, anyone have any suggestions of a good head cleaner I can use on my A1 & HV20?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[bustak]

does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Barry_Green]

That is probably the result of a captured dropout, yes. Dropouts can happen when recording, or when playing back. When they happen during recording, that's the worst-case scenario, but when they happen only during playback that can be sometimes recovered (as you discovered; sometimes when you play back the video a second time, it doesn't drop out at the same spot).

Dropouts can be caused by there being a fleck of dust on the tape or the recording heads, or by a fleck of coating flaking off the tape, or dirty recording heads... all sorts of reasons. If you're getting a lot of dropouts, cleaning your heads would be a first step to take; upgrading to a higher class of tape may also help minimize the occurrence of dropouts.

 

[bustak]

^ Great, thanks a lot Barry!

If you're getting a lot of dropouts, cleaning your heads would be a first step to take;

Can anyone suggest a good head cleaner for the Canon HDV camera's?