Capture Deck Fun

hi all,
capturing dv tapes using a sony dvcam deck. everything is going swimmingly until i started batch capturing a clip that i logged and the deck refused to stop when the out point happened, spilling into the next section which was logged separately. Does this make sense to anyone? just to be clear other sections before this have been logged and captured (batch) fine. just for some odd reason this section refuses to quit when told to. any ideas? my quick fix is going to be to capture now the remaining segment of the tape and use QT to create separate media and drag them in and log that way. i'd rather not do that though, can anyone think of a reason why this is happening?
thanks
Austin

Austin,
10 seconds of pre and post roll are more than enough.
4 seconds pre roll and 2 seconds postroll should be more than enough.
You are on the safe side using that. (that is speaking about DV. Betacam SP or digital betacam might want to have 5 to 6 seconds of preroll to be safe)
What I suspect to be the case is that you missed some TC breaks during logging.
In User Preferences you can select 'On Timecode Breaks: MAKE NEW CLIP'.
This should stop capturing when an extra TC break is encountered and a new capture of the rest of logged footage is automatically started then.
If it is really annoying you can consider to dub the tape to a another tape with fresh TC and let that tape be your master.
@scottieB: I doubt whether the pros like time of day. There are situation where time of day is desired, but most of the time it is not. And most pros do know it isn't and do know what troubles it can give when capturing.
Rienk
edit: As said earlier in this thread. Under menu: Final Cut Pro > Audio Video Settings > tab Device Control Presets you can EDIT (or DUPLICATE when your preset is locked) the selected preset and in the lower right corner of that Device Control Preset Editor you can specify the pre and postroll for the deck...
(end of edit)
Message was edited by: Rienk

Similar Messages

What type of Capture Deck should I get?

Well I've been capturing footage from my Panasonic DVX-100a Camera for a while now into final cut, and I'm told that I am a fool for doing so (head damge to the camera), so...what type of capture deck should I get? I have about $500 to spend. Any websites or brand names that you could give me would be great thanks!

I've gone off on this too many times, so I'll cut myself off as shortly as I can, but since you asked...
I think a retail pricetag of ~ $1675.00 USD is excessive for a glorified VCR, yes. Sure they're handy and hardy, do timecode, A/D conversion, etc.. yes. Great. So do $200.00 cams. I'm guessing the DSR-11 costs about 100-150 USD to make. Compare it so say a Sony PS3 as far as components, R&D costs, the whopping avertisement cost of ZERO, etc, yes they're big fat sham. I understand the history behind the VTR and that it's target audience was primarily industrial/commercial/professional prior to the boom in consumer level NLEditing popularity. But now that we've got firestores and P2 cards and everyone and their brother has a computer with Vegas and a DV camera it's high time that Sony and others get with the program and drop prices on outdated technology.
One always should pay a premium for any high end professional quality piece of machinery- but the DSR-11 in particular isn't THAT solid. Compare it to the DSR-30 in build quality and it's night and day. Then again the DSR-30 cost about 2x the DSR-11 when in production. (still doesn't weaken my argument at how costly the entry level machine is) They just aren't worth as much as they cost period, but due to a controlled market have stayed pricey. Someone should come along and sell a DSR-11 equivalent for 600 bucks, still make a handy profit, and force prices down.
Remember.. you asked. Sorry regardless for the rant.
(and I've heard the JVC VCR/combo is pretty weak before it gets mentioned. I mean a true equivalent.) The JVC thing should be sold for 300.

My DVCAM capture deck isn't capturing.

I have tried everything with my capture deck (Sony DSR-11) and nothing is working. I have tried turning off my computer and then turning my deck on, and then opening final cut, it won't read the deck though. I recently reloaded my FCP6, and I haven't captured anything since I reloaded it, is there something I need to do to set the deck up?
-Thanks

No doubt there is something satisfying about tracking down and fixing and issue that is causing problems in a surgical manner. Lately I've come to question that approach. Reading post after post from people who are having problems because - a) they don't comprehend how their computer works as a system - which leads them to ... b) not pay any attention to the upgrade paths of their software which has often dire consequences because ... c) they have done zero maintenance on their machines or junk it up with all sorts of useless gegaws really makes me wonder about the efficacy of this path.
I'm coming to believe in the modified brute force approach: once you have verified the problem is nothing simple like a permissions/ preference issue, erase the disk and do a clean installation. It will take less real time than futzing around for days trying to get things to 'sort of' work - and you have a pristine installation.
Not for everyone I agree.
Cheers,
x

Recomended VHS capture decks

I have been editing video for 3 years now (mainly mini dv from a Sony VX2100) but i'd like to get a VHS deck so i can edit some old home videos to dvd/web. Anybody have prior experience with VHS decks?

You'll probably get some used consumer one fr JVC with some kind of TBC function. Their HRS-7000 - 9800 model should have them. It's a must since old VHS tapes are likely to have major dropouts and tracking problems. W/ out digital TBC, the capture will abort on it own because of illegal video in digital video. This is especially true of there's nothing recorded on it or excessive tracking errors on tapes recorded at LP or EP. I've done almost 1,000 hours of legacy VHS archive capture and it can't be done w/ TBC technology.
The TBC (time base corrector) also helps to clean up the bad chroma problems associated w/ legacy composite color under system w/ a limit of 3.58 Mhz. In otherwords, the red color smearing will be a minimal. Quite an amazing difference in quality.
Holy moly, that's really old school stuff but there was a time in history in the mid 80-90s where it was the only viable technology there.

Trouble locating capture deck

Hi everyone.
I'm using my camera to capture some footage, but I can't get it to work. The message I get says that my system configuration might have changed, or that my camera might be disconnected or turned off. my camera is connected and turned on. this is my first time using my new mbp to capture, and the weird thing is, that the onboard camera is on, and my image is in the preview window.
I'd really appreciate any advice I can get.
thanks

Is View > External Video set to All Frames?
If so, you might need to Shut Down and power down, then power up and boot up again.

Capture Deck Not Initialized...EVER!!!

Hey,
Just wondering if anyone else has had the problem lately that your computer has not connected with your camera. Mine will not connect! I have tried 3 firewire cables (including a $40 brand new one) 2 MacBooks one of which I capture video with all the time and two different cameras...The only thing I can think of that could have changed anything are the software updates I got a couple days ago...Has this happend to anyone else?

I had forgotten that I upgraded the OS since my last capture. I followed the instructions in
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301852
and now all is well.
When all else fails…
Thanks to all.

HI 8mm capturing-deck controller

I'm capturing old hi-8 tapes, using my friends digital 8 camera, firewire 4pin to 6pin to laptop. I can view and control camera (in log and capture) but when i hit capture now nothing is on my screen, is it because their is no time code, because theri is a control track? How can i fix this, quictime pro allows me to capture, so does ImovieHD, but I want the settings to be 720x480.

HI,
you must change the capture setting into "not-controllable device ". In this manner FCP doesn't wait the time code for benning to capture. You can change this setting once you have open the "log and capture" window; go into the "capture settings* tab and change "device control" form firewire NTSC or PAL to "not-controllable device". Once you click on "capture now" FCP beginn to capture.

Data Reading Capture Error - what's up with this?

I know a few others have posted about this, but I have not seen an explanation.
My stats: 10.4.2 (yes, I'm going to get 10.4.3 - I will eat my pants if that has anything to do with this), FCP 5.0.3, G4 1.5GHz Pbook, LaCie 250GB external firewire drive for capture (TONS of space), Sony GV D300 capture deck, footage shot on the Panasonic DVX100 24p camera. The tapes are non-dropframe.
The error reads: Capture encountered a problem reading the data on your source tape. This could be due to a problem with the tape. To capture as much of your footage as possible, please log and capture a clip that ends before this segment, and another one that starts right after it.
This sounds to me suspiciously like Apple programmers punting on a known bug just prior to release, rather than something ACTUALLY wrong with my tapes, my computer, my connections, my drives or my deck.
The reason I say this is that I have just started a new project and am capturing five tapes of footage. I am on tape 4. I had no problem capturing from two of the 4 tapes so far - so my cables, deck, drive and software are fine.
On the 2 tapes that have given me problems, there is also discontinuous timecode. This is the DP's fault. However: the capture error is NOT occurring in places on the tape where the TC breaks (or skips, rather). THAT problem is simply causing the usual errors and requiring careful logging.
Instead, I get the error in question for clips that appear to be fine in terms of TC. When I get the capture error, I have actually been able to do 2 Capture Nows, but instead of capturing on both sides of the problem area ("this segment" in the error message parlance), I have been able to capture ALL OF THE TIMECODE in 2 clips. That is, when the capture fails and kicks out a mini clip (up to the point where the capture snagged), I can start a Capture Now from one frame after the last TC in the mini clip and Capture from there to the end.
So that suggests to me that there is nothing wrong with my tapes, either. To me, this is conclusive evidence of a pure software error.
I am wondering, therefore, if there is anyone from Apple monitoring these boards who can tell me what is ACTUALLY happening here and what to do, because it's very frustrating.
Thanks,
Nathan Jongewaard

My suggestion is that you reconsider whether your in Non-Drop frame. NTSC standard is Dropframe 29.97. I'm afraid you may have this backwards. DVX100's default to dropframe (29.97fps) in the USA. FCP could be encountering a pulldown cadence every few minutes because it expects a frame drop that is not there.
Remember the frame drop only occurs every few minutes so this makes sense. With standard NTSC capture (not 24fps pulldown removal) such dropped frames don't mess anything up. They just subtly shift the timing and sync of the audio track. You could have captured this way for years and rarely seen a problem with short clips. When doing a pulldown removal, a missing or in your case extra frame can confuse the pulldown removal system as it expects to find the video encoded in 29.97 rather than 30fps.

Batch capture problems HDV

Hi we are trying to batch capture HDV 1080i 25fps footage filmed from both a Sony Z1 and Z7 camera in Final Cut Pro 7. The problem comes when we try and batch capture or clip capture logged footage in final cut pro, the tape seems to be stuck in a continuous preroll loop on the first clip that needs capturing, the only way to capture any footage is through capture now. Finally the capture deck we are using is a Sony HVR-M15AE deck.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Sounds like there may not be enough preroll space on the source tape ie not enough preceding unbroken timecode to allow for the preroll time needed ... if so then you may need to try a shorter preroll for that clip. Check (and possibly edit) the preroll setting in your Audio / Video Settings >> Device Control Preset. (You may just want to create a temporary duplicate preset for this shorter preroll setting).
Hope it helps
Andy

PP CS3 HD capture (my specific setup question)

I know this has probably been covered before, but I am trying to test my setup in case there is something specific I need to do:
EQUIPMENT
SONY HDR-HC9 HDV 1080i CAMCORDER
SONY GVH-D700 HDV VIDEO WALKMAN w/ 7" LCD (used to capture video to avoid constant plugging in/out of camcorder firewire)
Dell computer (3 GB RAM, not sure of the processor off-hand but it runs CS3 nicely...lots of resolution options with the largest being 2048x1536...I currently have it set at 1024x768)
I've run a firewire connection from the walkman into the computer. When I put a standard mini-DV tape in, PP captures like normal. When I try an HD tape with HD footage (1080i), PP tells me there is a connection but I get no image whatsoever.
I'm not sure if it has something to do with 1080i just not matching my screen resolution or what. If that's the case, would one of the higher resoltions do the trick?
Thanks for the insight!

It doesn't appear HDV split works with my capture deck (see first post). Is this designed soley for camcorders to be run through? When I open the program it just says nothing is connected.
As far as PP, although there is not an exact preset for my deck I can get the play, stop, rewind and fast-forward functions to work on the capture screen but I cannot record. I can even see the image in perfect clarity on the deck itself.
At this point I'm not sure how to capture HD! I really do not want to have to connect the camcorder each time as this was the whole reason why I bought the deck.
Thanks for the input, I'm anxiously awaiting your replies and insight!

Analog capture issue

WHILE capturing vhs through an analog capture deck, many videos hit a snag, where they will freeze sporadically on an individual shot and hold for a few seconds and then continue recording. id say this happens about every 5 minutes..any thoughts?
Thanks

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1452436&tstart=0

VHS Capturing Snag

WHILE capturing vhs through an analog capture deck, many videos hit a snag, where they will freeze sporadically on an individual shot and hold for a few seconds and then continue recording. id say this happens about every 5 minutes..any thoughts?
Thanks

What type of converter are you using?
And, what type of drive are you trying to capture to? Is it, by any chance, a USB drive?
If you are monitoring the capture directly from the deck that you are capturing from, then it might be a problem with the deck, although that isn't likely since you say it is happening with different types of tapes.
Most converters, like the Canopus models, have analog inputs to connect your deck, and a firewire output to your computer. There could be a problem with the converter, but it sounds like it might also be a problem with the drive you are trying to capture to, if the lagging you are noticing is being monitored in the FCP log and capture window.

MiniDV Capture Quality

Does footage look the same from:
*a $2500 3CCD Sony/Cannon
*a $1500 miniDV capture deck
*an old $200 Panasonic home video camera?
Basically I am asking if capture quality changes depending on what is being used?
Thanks.

Of course not. If all MiniDV cameras captured exactly the same image, nobody would buy an expensive camera over a cheaper one, and there wouldn't be the hundreds of models there are out there. They are all the same resolution, but resolution is only a small part of the image quality equation.
a $1500 miniDV capture deck
Decks don't capture footage, they just play it back. So however good or bad the footage from a MiniDV tape is, that's how good or bad you'll get it from the deck.

Good Deck Reccomendation

Hello-
I want to get a decent deck that I can use with FCE that will import Mini DV and VHS. Any assistace would be greatly appreciated.

miniDV decks are expensive.
I use a standard VHS deck and I also purchased a used miniDV camera in great condition on Ebay to use as a "full time" allways connected deck for my FCE editing system. My video camera has analog inputs so I hook it up between my VHS VCR and my Mac. It works great for under $200 total for both decks. You NEED the analog inputs in the video camera for the VHS tape capture. I do not know of a cheaper way to go and I do not think you could get any better quality of "capture" at any budget even if you spent 1-2 thousand on top of the line decks and a box. You may have everything you need to hook this up now. I purchased mine because I wanted it to stay connected to the computer all the time. It will also save wear and tear on my "GOOD" video camera I use for shooting. Your capture deck will see alot of wear and tear from pausing, FF, RR, etc.
Hope this helps.
Frank

Lost communication with JH3

Yesterday I tried to begin a capture of material for a new project. After repeated attempts to reboot, examined all connections, I decided the RS-232 cable must have gone bad. Drove 140 RT to replace it. This morning I did and found no difference.
My next step was to upgrade the firmware on the Kona 3 board and did so. Ran Aja VTR Xchange - beautiful picture and synched time code but the one box says " NO VTR connected".....
Decided to try running FCP and open the Log and Capture window to see what it said. Same thing. Nice picture SMPTE time code appears to be fine- "No Communication". So ...
Now I am down to the deck controls and some hidden internal settings having changed somehow, or continued software incompatibility.
I will say that prior to this issue - I have had splendid synchronization between all of these devices.
FCP- 7.0.3
Kona 3-
Sony JH-3
It seems that one minute FCP setting is off now. I've gone through the Audio/ Video settings and will return to all the preferences settings. But I am confused and don't get it..
Thanks for any help solving this!

HI Meg,
No the JH -3 is not a switchable on/off the RS-232 control port. I'll verify with Sony but I've gone through everything on the deck and menu. Unless it was damaged or fried the control board in some way I think I can eliminate the deck. So I am now going to go through all of the settings on the FCP panels and preferences. I must have done something when I used Soundflower to capture audio the other day...
That is all I can think of.....
I use a JH-3 as my play/capture deck as I am still shooting with the Sony HDW-730 - a **** fine camera. I've moved into 2k at 250 fps and 4k at up to 60 fps but for wildlife and specifically Birds... these new cameras are not ready yet. Not for what I do anyway!
If I can figure out what I've done I'll post it up here. I've got to figure it out for the next Job... !!!
TRB

Capture Deck Fun

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for