XHA1S Playback issue?!@#$@#

R

RaDonda

Member
A few weeks ago, I captured about 45 hours worth of footage that I shot in January. I used the wrong codec/import settings & now I have to recapture (sucks, but no big deal). I re-captured 2 tapes worth of footage before I realized that only a frame at a time was being captured, sometimes 2, sometimes absolutely nothing... 710 files totaling only 2 GB was what I got from both tapes. At first I thought it was my newly changed capture settings, but when I disconnected the HDMI/Firewire cable & simply played the tape back on the camera, the same issue occurred. It plays a frame maybe 2 at a time, then freezes on that frame for anywhere from 1 second up to 8+ seconds. The time code & audio also freezes & when a new frame pops up, they adjust accordingly for that frame & then freeze again.

Here is a video I recorded from my laptop watching the playback screen, please ignore the ill quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NKquUDSXjY

I have 2 identical cameras that we purchased new just over a year ago, however the other just got shipped to Canon for a scratched lense repair, so I have no backup to test with. The footage was filmed between the 2, but they have identical settings & like I said, I just imported these with no problem a few weeks ago... can't remember which camera I used for the capture process. I've played 10 of the tapes back (atleast 4 of them that I am SURE were recorded with this particular camera) and they all have the same issue.

So, I popped in a brand new tape (Sony DVC, same brand as always, never changed) and recorded 25 seconds worth of footage & then played it back, with NO PROBLEM. I went back to the other tapes, same issue. I ran a brand new head cleaner thru (again, same brand that came with the camera, I just happened to have a brand new one on hand) and tried the tapes again... same issue. Back to the brand new tape I just recorded & it's still plays just fine! I pulled out another tape from a few months ago, same issue as well. It takes forever to recognize the clip & when it does, plays just a frame or two at a time. If I hold down the FF button while a problem tape is playing, it will fast forward through the clips with no display issues... just looks like you would expect to see when speeding through footage. Same thing when I hold down the Rewind button.

With the exception of messing with the presets on the other camera on the day I shipped it off to have the scratch repaired, I haven't made any changes to these cameras; I haven't even used either of them since my shoot in January except to capture that footage to FCP a few weeks back!!

Please help... I'm going nuts here!
 
Write out a list of all your custom presets and custom cam settings so you can reinstall them after you do a camera reset. Manual p143. HTH

Cheers.
 
I have no idea what happened... Got up this morning, still acting the same way & was on the phone with Canon ready to send it in. After stripping my camera of everything, for whatever reason I put a tape in & played it one last time... AND IT WORKS!! I can't explain it... like nothing was ever even wrong?? It's been capturing footage all day like a champ; I'm on tape 7 (of the stack of 10 that wouldn't even play properly last night). I'm not quite sure what to think other than I'll continue to capture my footage & then send this in to Canon for a "checkup"... better safe than sorry in the field!

Thanks for the advice, should it happen again, I'll be sure to give that a try first!
 
Yep I think it'll happen again and when you least expect it .. do a cam reset anyway. You're not shooting at LP speed by any chance, never do that.

Cheers.
 
RaDonda said:
So, I popped in a brand new tape (Sony DVC, same brand as always, never changed) and recorded 25 seconds worth of footage & then played it back, with NO PROBLEM. I went back to the other tapes, same issue. I ran a brand new head cleaner thru (again, same brand that came with the camera, I just happened to have a brand new one on hand) and tried the tapes again... same issue. Back to the brand new tape I just recorded & it's still plays just fine!
Click to expand...

You might want to check out this thread over at DVinfo about Sony's recent batch of faulty tapes. I also religiously use the Sony HDV branded tapes in my XH-A1, and have had similar problems with these tapes recently.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital...487572-sony-admits-bad-batch-es-hdv-tape.html

Sony PDF on the matter is at the link above. They have a number you can call for further inquiries.

I also took my camera to get a professional cleaning of the tape heads after first experiencing the problem. The technician said that my tape heads didn't even look that dirty, and even so, were not due for a cleaning at that time. I still had a problem with another Sony HDV tape after getting the heads cleaned.

I have checked the lot number on my problematic Sony tapes, and confirmed that it is not my camera but the fact that I unluckily got stuck with a few bad Sony tapes.

You might want to make sure it is not your camera before you send it off to Canon, in the case that it is the tapes being the problem.
 
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Thanks, I will check that out for sure!! Hadn't even thought about the tapes being a problem. I appreciate the link & will check out my current stock of tapes!
 
Well spotted Nektonic, I never twigged and I put up post 3 on that DVinfo thread about the bad Sony tapes.

Any news RaDonda?

Cheers.
 
So far, I've imported over 60 tapes & It hasn't given me a single problem. Once I'm all done, I'll do the Reset & keep a close eye on it. It' will go straight to Canon at the first sign of an issue! And I checked into the tapes, mine thankfully were not part of the bad batch!!!

Thanks again guys for all your help : )
 
I would grab an hv30 or hv20 to use as a tape deck. This will save your cam from an expensive head replacement in the near future. Or look in to a firestore, which is a digital recorder.
 
I was thinking about that & I'd looked into the firestore, but it wouldn't really work well for my situation. The hv20/30 as a deck would... there is no issue with using that to import tapes recorded on my xha1s? Thinking about it, I guess there wouldn't be, the media is already recorded & it's a Canon hdv camera which would probably record in the same 1440x1080 format & export through firewire... am I right? Are there any other options for a tape deck?
 
Yep, a HV20/30/40 are the best to capture from the A1/S.

You could use their supplied remote control to shuttle the tape and avoid punching the buttons on the LCD .. unless you're driving the tape via your NLE. You need 2 Firewire cables, 6 > 4 pin in case you do use the A1s for capture at some point and 4 > 4 pin for the Canon HV cam. Can't remember, do those cams come with them? Don't buy cheapies off the net.

Be real careful connecting those cables, the sockets are fragile .. set it up before you turn everything on.

Cheers.
 
Take a look at the SONY HDM63VG tapes. I have been shooting with them alot without problems, and none of our customers that buy them complain either.
 
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