Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

HDR-FX1000 / HVR-Z5 (2008). HVR-Z7 / HVR-S270 (2007). HDR-FX7 / HVR-V1 (2006). HDR-FX1 / HVR-Z1 (2004).
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bhoy022673
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Joined: 08 Sep 2011 17:50
Location: Berkley, MA

Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by bhoy022673 »

i just purchased a Sony HVR-Z5U back in November and I love the picture quality. I'm just concerned about some of the dropouts I've seen, just during the first 2 shoots I've done with the camera.

This is a brand new machine, on its 3rd hour of recording, using Panasonic AY-DVM60ES new tape. I was shooting 2 hour concert. The first tape looks ok, no dropouts. After hour 1 was up, I quickly switched tapes and put it 2nd tape. I made a transfer that night after show via firewire DV to my Magnavox HD/DVD burner. It looks ok. A few days later, I play back tape 2 and entire 1st min is bad, timecode stops, bluescreen, dropout. Rewinds ok but white glitches here and there.

I’m disappointed - how can I rely on this? What could have happened to cause this? It seemed to play fine once, as I have the DVD's to prove it. Yet on repeated playings, the 1st min is poor. Also had a dropout of 1 sec or so on another tape.

I'm thinking I need to:
1. FF/rew unpack tapes
2. Did I press rec too fast during the tape change? Maybe the tape needed to settle in?
3. Should I black out 1st min like DAT tapers used to do?
4. Switch tape brand to the Sony standard?

Are dropouts to be expected? I do have the HVR-MRC1 memory recorder and I plan to use that as backup. Is this a suitable card:
SanDisk 32GB60mb/s or
SanDisk Extreme Pro ?

Thanks for any input. I'm frustrated because I've had the same dropout issues with the Sony HC1 consumer camera over the years. I absolutely love the picture quality, so I want to stick with this camera.

Bill
acgold7
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Re: Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by acgold7 »

Any new tape cam is prone to dropouts for the first 20 hours or so, until the heads get "burnished" and settle down. A head cleaning tape can help, but you should only run it for a few seconds and not too frequently.

Also, Panasonic tapes have been reported to be problematic. Doughie has reported problems with them in the past. I would switch to Sony Premiums. I used them for years and never had problems.

Repacking the tape isn't a bad idea, and running a minute of color bars at the beginning is what the pros do, for several reasons.

I have four Z5s and exclusively use the MRC now, but when I used tape in them I rarely had a dropout problem, by following the procedures above.

The Sandisk cards are fantastic. They are the only ones I rely on, so much so that I no longer use tape as a backup. The Extreme 60MB/s are fine; you don't need the Extreme Pro 90MB/s versions. I use the 32 Gig size exclusively.
Adam
bhoy022673
Posts: 10
Joined: 08 Sep 2011 17:50
Location: Berkley, MA

Re: Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by bhoy022673 »

Adam -

Thanks for this post. It certainly makes me feel better. I'll switch tapes, and get my memory recording unit running.

Looking forward to using the camera some more in 2012.

Bill
acgold7
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Re: Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by acgold7 »

Make sure you have the settings correct for the MRC, both in the cam and on the unit. For example, if you wish to shoot without tape at all, EXT REC CTRL on the cam must be set to EXT ONLY, and on the unit, SYNCHRO mode must be selected in CAMLINK SEL.

It's a little tricky to get them talking together flawlessly. But once you do, you'll never look back.

B&H is out of the Sandisks but Amazon has them for about $79.
Adam
bhoy022673
Posts: 10
Joined: 08 Sep 2011 17:50
Location: Berkley, MA

Re: Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by bhoy022673 »

Adam -

I finally got the Sandisk card and I'm up and running with the HVR-MRC1. I'm reading the manual and I'm a little confused. Your post on how to record with only the memory is good, that was one question that the manual wasn't clear on.

2nd question, how do I get this to record HDV, m2t files? I see in the menu option, there is a setting for DV file type - AVI or DV. But this would only be for DV recording, not HDV recording. I can't seem to find the menu option that lets me select HDV. I do see one under CLIP, but it is greyed out/unselectable. Perhaps it is this way because I have recorded onto the card, but in AVI format? (I did this by accident during a recent shoot.) Hence the camera won't let me change the clip from DV to HDV, for playback purposes? (That would make sense for playback).

Thanks,
Bill
acgold7
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Re: Dropouts on Sony HVR-Z5U tape

Post by acgold7 »

The Z5 shoots only one HDV format -- m2t -- so that is what the MRC will record. It only records what you send it -- there are no HDV options to select. It does give you a choice of DV formats but this is only applicable if you are shooting SD DV, not HD.

And of course you can't change a clip from DV to HDV. You can't add data that isn't there. If it's recorded in DV, it can never be HD.

If you are shooting HDV on the Z5 and not downconverting, your files on the MRC will be HDV M2T. Make sure your LCD screen on the Z5 says HDV Out on it.
Adam
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