Would any of you video guys like to help me out?

[Tequila Grandma]

I have a Mini DV tape on which I recorded some things. On this tape, the timecode seems to break up, as in, it'll start out at zero, and then go to, say, 0:04:05:14, and then at that stopping point, the timecode resets and goes back to zero. It doesn't do this every time I stopped recording, only at certain points. It does this a few different times on this tape. So, I have a couple questions regarding this...

1.) I'm not very experienced with the camera, and I was wondering if I might have pressed a button or something accidentally make the timecode go back to zero at certain points.

2.) Is there a way that I could completely reset the timecode so that it would begin at 0:00:00:00, and then just go straight through to the end of the footage?

I'm not even sure if I'm posting this in the right section at all, and if not I apologize.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

1- if there is a gap between when you stop recording and start recording again, the timecode will reset...

2- not really. if you start recording all the way at the beginning, and record straight through (thus erasing what you have), you can get straight up timecode, but you lose everything of course. can't really change the timecode that's already there.

the best thing for capturing purposes is just capture it in pieces.

and in the future, record extra, then rewind a bit if you want to really ensure no gaps... or just check everytime you restart recording...

 

[Tequila Grandma]

Thanks so much jelloshots, that's what I needed to know

 

[rebelberg21]

The best way to ensure no timecode breaks is to do STRIPE the tape or BLACK the tape depending on who you ask. But it's the same thing.

you should do this whenever you get a new DV tape.

1.)Put the tape in the camera/deck and fastforward it all the way and rewind it all the way. (this is packing the tape. to ensure it doesn't get messed up basically).

2.)then once it's rewound put the lens cap on the camera and record nothing but black through the whole tape. (a pitch black room works also) but the most important part is that it must record non-stop till the tape runs out.

Technically it doesn't have to be black it could be anything but black is the best idea that way if you have breaks in video after that you won't see some weird video.

So doing this will lay consistant time-code down a new tape and now when you record new video the timecode will stay and only the video will change. No more worries about time-code breaks.

This may be more than you need. But I record video professionally, and this has paid off many times.

 

[iJon]

i was gonna say exactly what rebel said, thats the first thing i learned from an apple final cut pro seminar.

iJon

 

[patrick0brien]

-All

Call me a relic of 3/4inch analog editing, but when "Blanking" I always used the color bars. That way, I could see when it was time to retire the tape.

Yes, you could blank a DV tape, but remember, like analog, when you end an recording, there will be a break in timecode, but unlike analog - this isn't a dealbreaker - DV can deal with broken and segmented timecode.

Timecode is a numeration of the control track. Think of the control track as you would see a celluloid projector film. A series of sequential frames separated by black horizontal bars, flanked by vertical bars (that happen to have holes). The black bar lattice lookes like a ladder doesn't it? - With the frames simply placed between the rungs.

Think if timecode as the playing device - a tape player in this case - that counts the rungs as they pass. On a blank tape, the counter will remain 00:00:00:00 as there is no ladder put down (not the silly cryptography in "the Ring"). Recording anything onto a tape will lay down the control track (ladder) and the frames at the same time, every time something is recorded. When you hit "stop", the timecode is broken - the ladder has reached its end. Digital simply startes the next timecode at the next logical placement of the next rung. Analog, however, was a bit more finickey, if you hit "stop" after a recording and broke the timecode - good luck with a clean edit. The terminated timecode would play hell with the edit rig and you'd be lucky to get the in/out points to stay, and get an edit at all.

You don't have to blank a digital tape, but it might be a good idea anyway as most DNLE's use timecode breaks to create a new clip.

 

[rebelberg21]

Technically you don't have to Stripe a tape.

But if you want to log clips and then batch capture, then you must, because almost all DV cameras will break time-code when the camera is stopped for a while or turned off between recordings. And these breaks will make the logging and batch capturing a nightmare.

If the project is even a little important I always suggest the log/batch capture process. That way you can save the batch list as a text file and have the ultimate back up device if media gets lost or you need to recapture for any reason.

So technically do you have to? No. But it's a great habit to get into.

 

[rebelberg21]

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-All

....but unlike analog - this isn't a dealbreaker - DV can deal with broken and segmented timecode.

You don't have to blank a digital tape, but it might be a good idea anyway as most DNLE's use timecode breaks to create a new clip.

There are timecode breaks in the digital world also. Some cameras and decks handle them better than others. But I've personally run into problems with projects from people who have broken timecode