OK to "stripe" tapes?

J

Jordanfilm

Member
Just got a DVX100a. Yea me! Anyway...

Does any one of you video wizards know if it's okay to "Stripe" Mini-DV tapes (PQ's & MQ's)... in other words, BLACK OUT the entire tape by recording with the lens cap on?

What are the PRO's/CON's of this method? Is there a better way?

I don't want any timecode breaks so I can batch capture everything nice and EZ.

Thanks!
Bobby
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

Pro's are you won't have timecode breaks as you said.

Con's is it puts twice as much time on your heads.

Do a search...this has been talked about and is pretty in depth.
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

People say to use the record find button. I'm too forgetful for that. What I suggest you do, since you should be using a deck to capture your footage (I hope you are), use that to blank your tapes. That way you don't get the twice as much head-wear problem.
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

Perhaps this has been beat to death elsewhere, but blacking a tape like this, with DV, won't keep there from being timecode breaks. DV doesn't do clean edit outs, so there is no reason for the end of a record to line up with what was recorded previously.

Or, does Panasonic do something special here?
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

No, I don't have a deck (can't afford one). I have another DV Camera (VX1000) which is all ready pretty beat up. Could I use that as my deck? Just for capturing?
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

I haven't striped a tape since my analog days.

I'm not sure why this will even be a necessity for you. Watch how you shoot and if you turn the camera off and pick it back up to shoot some more, make sure you're leading off the tail of your last bit of footage. No problems then. I've never had a timecode issue in the 4 years I've been capturing via firewire.

Mike
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

just got the DVX. I used to use the VX1000 and timecode breaks were a pain in the ass. So, I striped my tapes so that I could batch capture in FCP4. It just saves time.

Thanks for the advice everyone!
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

Yes, you can use the VX as your deck. But then you run into the infamous TAPE PROBLEM. Unless you only used one kind of tape in the VX, and continue to use the same tape for the DVX.
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

I have to go along with Mike. I haven't stripped a tape in years, since the "Trinity" (anyone remember that?)

On the average, I shoot up to six hours of footage on every shoot. Never a problem.
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

I have been using FCP4 to FW capture through my deck for stuff shot both on a VX1000 and a PD-150. If you aren't shooting straight through, or if you go back to add something to another tape, then timecode breaks are always a concern. I am striping 150 tapes for my upcoming Ecuador shoot. I don't want to have to mess with TC breaks when we batch capture. I have been using the VX1000 and the deck to stripe the tapes for the DVX100A, so I avoided the head-wear problem, at least on the DVX. Unless the DVX has some "absolute timecode" thing where it doesn't keep the code that's already on the tape, then striping should take care of it for you. Just because some people don't have problems with TC breaks doesn't mean that others won't.

Hope this helps.
 
Re: OK to "stripe" tapes?

[quote author=ericcosh link=board=Events;num=1090451782;start=0#8 date=07/23/04 at 07:56:02].... I haven't stripped a tape in years, since the "Trinity" (anyone remember that?)[/quote]

Trinity? Yikes! I have one sitting in my studio. Biggest door stop I ever owned.
 
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