Weird DVX 100 playback problem

J

jzucker

Active member
I shot a video over the weekend and did about 50 takes of 1-2 minutes each. After 1 or 2 takes, I would flip over into VCR mode and rewind and playback the previous take. When I played the tape later on back in my studio, the time display wasn't always updating and would display nothing for 2-5 seconds at a time and did some over very strange things.

Is this common behavior when flipping back and forth between record and playback modes or is there something wrong with my DVX100?
 
so then the problem I'm seeing is "normal"? It's a surprise to me because up til yesterday, I was not using tape. I have been recording direct to the computer using Adobe OnLocation and a firewire interface.
 
bad dvx, bad, bad, bad!

bad dvx, bad, bad, bad!

I have been experiencing something similar with my 100. After shooting, with out review, as I am trying to log and capture in FC I will loose the footage and time code. I can try and rewind the tape or ff but it won't pick up anything. I can remove the tape and play it fine on another camera but my 100 will not play it. Even with the camera disconnected from the computer and trying to play footage on the LCD it will not play nor will it pick up any time code. I just spent a couple of hrs with a local tech (non-Panny tech) pull tape out of my 100 and insert into another camera and it would play fine, back in my 100 and nothing. I have always used the Panasonic tapes but he got me to try a Fuji, we recorded on , and played it back with no problem.

So for now we came up with the conclusion that the slight amount of wear on my heads (70 hrs) is enough that they have a tough time reading the thinner panasonic tapes. Fuji tapes, a little thicker with a little lube, and the heads can read the tape. This theory is still under test and would appreciate any ideas out there.:undecided
 
I just spent a grip to get my vtr repaired. It wasn't reading the tapes on playback, but was recording fine.
 
Mine only has 8 hours on the heads so I can't imagine there's any wear. Maybe it's defective? Anyone else have this issue with the DVX100B?
 
just got off the phone with panasonic. They suggested running a head cleaner and if that doesn't fix the problem, have the heads cleaned professionally. They do not recommend the users cleaning the heads other than using a head cleaning tape.

If that doesn't solve the issue, it needs to be repaired. They disagreed with what Dory posted and said that this is a normal use case and it should work fine.
 
jzucker said:
I shot a video over the weekend and did about 50 takes of 1-2 minutes each. After 1 or 2 takes, I would flip over into VCR mode and rewind and playback the previous take. When I played the tape later on back in my studio, the time display wasn't always updating and would display nothing for 2-5 seconds at a time and did some over very strange things.

Is this common behavior when flipping back and forth between record and playback modes or is there something wrong with my DVX100?
Click to expand...

when you're done reviewing your takes press "end search" so it can start recording right where you left it, and avoid that gap even VCR's do that.
 
Unix said:
when you're done reviewing your takes press "end search" so it can start recording right where you left it, and avoid that gap even VCR's do that.
Click to expand...

is that different from just letting it play until it stops at the end?
 
jzucker said:
is that different from just letting it play until it stops at the end?
Click to expand...

yes, for some weird reason if you stop at the end, switch to camera mode and press record it takes a couple of seconds for the heads to engage but the tape is already rolling thus the gap, but when you use end search it stops right at the end and is ready to continue recording without messing your TC you can use it even on camera mode just PRESS and HOLD end search, on VCR mode you can just press it.
also try "rec check" near the tape compartment.
 
The DVX 100 like many camcorders/vcr's backs up a few frames to sync up the internal TC when you press stop or pause. When you start to record again It then starts recording the footgage with TC sync'ed when you resume. By pushing the "end search" as suggested by Unix the camera does the work instead of you trying to position the tape at the end in the LCD display.

I have not used this fucntion but I believe the DVX might let you select TC format by clip as weel as total time. I am not sure as I use several different cameras. However, this is not what matters here.

S Cannon
 
no problems

no problems

jzucker said:
I shot a video over the weekend and did about 50 takes of 1-2 minutes each. After 1 or 2 takes, I would flip over into VCR mode and rewind and playback the previous take. When I played the tape later on back in my studio, the time display wasn't always updating and would display nothing for 2-5 seconds at a time and did some over very strange things.

Is this common behavior when flipping back and forth between record and playback modes or is there something wrong with my DVX100?
Click to expand...

I doubt that theres anything wrong with your camera... what you're experiencing is a break in timecode. This is very common especially if you're shooting 24PA. Every time you stop the tape to watch it (or not) and resume recording... the camera head cannot pin point the exact frame it left off. So the camera will automatically find a fresh un-recorded section on the minidv tape and create a new timecode start point to ensure and un-interrupted cadence or timecode during your takes. The DVX cares for all of us. Hope this helps... for piece of mind... i guess.
 
Last edited:
mindzeye said:
I doubt that theres anything wrong with your camera... what you're experiencing is a break in timecode. This is very common especially if you're shooting 24PA. Every time you stop the tape to watch it (or not) and resume recording... the camera head cannot pin point the exact frame it left off. So the camera will automatically find a fresh un-recorded section on the minidv tape and create a new timecode start point to ensure and un-interrupted cadence or timecode during your takes. The DVX cares for all of us. Hope this helps... for piece of mind... i guess.
Click to expand...

I wasn't shooting in 24p but even so, the playback behavior was very flawed in this case, sometimes taking as much as 30 seconds to start playing again from the end of one clip to the beginning of the next even though I had played up 'til the end of the tape. I still haven't tried Unix' suggestion but will do so this weekend.

Thanks to everyone for your help. This group is really a fantastic resource.

jaz
 
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