P2 format err!

L

larryz22

Member
Camera _ HVX-200
16GB P2 Card

The card was formatted with the camera and the footage was recorded in standard DVCPro 25 for a news show. It is not a new card.

After shooting alot of footage, the camera is flashing "FORMAT ERR!" in slot 1 of the camera.

There is nothing there. I tried to view footage using P2CMS, the camera itself, P2 Viewer and the P2 reader: Nothing. I cannot even select "Repair Clip" in the menu.

I formated the card in the camera again, then did a test recording and the two pieces of video were fine. I then recorded more video and lost it again.

I'm not sure if it is the P2 Card or the Camera.

When I put it in slot 1 of the camera, I get an "INCOMPATIBLE CARD" error.
When I put it in slot 2 of the camera, I get a "FORMAT ERR!"

Thanks for your help!

Larry
 
Hi Larry,

Is it possible to test another P2 card in the camera to see if you have a faulty card or some sought of issue with the P2 slots in the camera.

One more thing that I forget to ask. What firmware is you HVX200 running. With the 16Gb cards you need firmware 4.06 as a minimum I believe.
 
Last edited:
might also want to confirm what series cards you are using.. "A", "R" or "E".
 
DGW bring up a good point. If a A or R series, the firmware for a 16Gb is 4.06. If you have the new E series card, you should be looking at 4.10.
 
16 GB Card = R Series and has been used many times before this error.

I recorded on MiniDV tape today to do a test and I am getting Blue horizontal bars throughout the entire picture. Definitely does not look like dirty heads. It looks like I have to send it for repair.


Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Larry
 
Hi Larry,

Blue bars with picture between generally means cloged heads. You can use a head cleaning tape and run it for 10-15 seconds and see if the blinds effect goes away. Might save a trip to panasonic. Don't run the cleaning tape for more than 20secs as there generally fairly aggressive on the camera heads. If the first pass improves the playback image, but still has pixalated image you can run it for a second pass which should do the job.

Did you try another P2 card in either slot. Also you have not indicated what firmware you are running on the camera. It may be a faulty ribben cable to the slots in the camera, but just before sending it off, testing with another P2 card will tell you if it is a card related issue or camera issue.

Steve.
 
We're seconding the motion to test another card in the camera (or the card in a different camera). If they're not an option, we can test both for you.

Best,
Jasmine Moore
Administrative Assistant
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
jasminem@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com
 
Hi all,

Sorry about the delayed response. Checked other P2 Cards, similar issues. Sent back to Panasonic repair shop: P2 recorder/player in camera was bad.

Blue bars seemed to be cleared up with a good cleaning.

I had these blue bars appear on some of our older JVC D-9 recorders and the cleaning did not work. In those instances, the lower drum was bad.

Anyway, just thought you all should know is case you run into a similar problem.

Thanks,
Larry
 
Hi Larry,

Well at least we now know that the P2 Cards were not the problem. I don't know much about the JVC D-9, but if you every get those horizontal blue bars a short run of the cleaning tape should fix it. Depending on the tapes used you can end up doing it more often. Some brand of tapes tend to clog the heads quicker than others due to the quality of the magnetic coating.

Steve.
 
Stephanh,

I will check out the tapes we've been using and see if this continues. Right now we are using Panasonic AY-DVM83PQ. They've been very reliable to date.

You and Jasmine were probably right though, it just needed a good cleaning.

Thanks for your input.

Larry
 
Hi Larry,

I have clogged heads on my HVX200. This has happened twice. The first time I sent the camera back to Panasonic under the warranty and they said they had replaced the mech.

At that time I didn't know about the different types of tape and so when the camera came back I continued to use the Sony LP-90 Premium mini DV tapes (orange pack in UK). The heads clogged again, this time out of warranty. Nothing will clean the heads I've tried everything. So now I don't record to tape. I never wanted to record to tape but some of my clients insisted, so now it's a bit of a problem as I have to convince my clients that I should record to my cards.

The problem apparently is that the Sony tapes are 'wet lube' (which clogs the heads) whilst the Panasonic tapes are 'dry lube'.

I have used literally hundreds and hundreds of the Sony tapes in many different cameras from all manufacturers with no problems until I moved to the HVX.

Here's the 'rant' part of my post: Why does there have to be 2 types of tape. This just complicates things causing hassle and wasted time. I thought that mini DV was a standard that everyone followed but apparently not.

Don't get me wrong, the HVX is a great camera, the answer to most of my prayers. The fact that it had a tape mech was a bonus for those of us with ties to tape based acquisition. But because the mech is prone to this head clogging problem, it's more of a token gesture on the part of Panasonic and not really a viable, reliable option for acquisition.

The reason I haven't had the mech fixed is that even if I did I would never trust it again out on a shoot.

Weenie
 
Hi have always used Panasonic brand both the black and now the white Master Quality tapes and have no issues with them on both a Canon XL1 and currently the HVX.

I have had issues with Sony tapes and to a lesser extent JVC. At some point in time you will need to use a cleaning tape, but if you are using it excessively then toss that brand of tape. Also be aware that cleaning tapes wear the recording/playback heads, so be careful about using them and never run a cleaning tape longer than you should. Generally 15-20 seconds should do the job. Sometimes you may need to run it a second time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top