OT D8 camera timecode drops during capture

Former user wrote on 12/21/2005, 7:06 AM
This might be a camera problem, but I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this and may have suggestions.

When capturing from my older Digital 8 camera (Sony 103), the timecode reporting stops. Usually either about 3 minutes in or around 10 minutes.

The capturing will continue, but no scenes are detected because there is no date/time data or timecode data being read.

Sometimes, but not always, when I end the capture I get a Device Communication error.

This problem exists on two different computers and different software, so it is probably not a Vegas issue, and may be a camera issue. I have also tried different cables, the firewire patch and even reinstalled the firewire and camera drivers.

Is this a camera failure? Any other clues, like maybe the CLOCK battery causing this?

Thanks for any information.

David M. Turner

Comments

Ptero wrote on 12/21/2005, 7:56 AM
I have a newer D8 camera (Sony TRV280) - I have never seen this happen. My guess would be it's a camera problem.
Former user wrote on 12/21/2005, 10:13 AM
Does anyone know if the clock battery is in the loop at all at this point. I know you need it to get the correct time for the time/date stamp. But I was curious if it had any relevence in playing back date/time and timecode through firewire.

Dave T2
johnmeyer wrote on 12/21/2005, 4:18 PM
You need to have set the clock for capture to work correctly. If clock is not set (the equivalent to blinking "8s" on a VCR), your scene detection will not work.
Former user wrote on 12/22/2005, 8:51 AM
Now I am confused. I took my camera to work where I have another computer with video capture software. Ran the camer through firewire, shuttled and everthing, the timecode did not disappear.

I also ran a test on my laptop. Works flawlessly.

So now I need to figure out why my two computers have home, with different cables and capture cards, are both dropping the timecode (possibly the firewire signal) during capture.

If anyone has any ideas on what might cause the stream to be interuupted without affecting the capture itself, I am open to suggestions.

Dave T2
Steve Mann wrote on 12/25/2005, 11:45 AM
Are you using the same capture software on both computers?

I use Scnealyzer Live, which doesn't care if the source has timecode or not.
fldave wrote on 12/25/2005, 1:53 PM
Firewall or Anti-virus software common to both machines? Try disabling them during capture to see if that is the cause.
Former user wrote on 12/27/2005, 5:41 AM
n19093,

I have not used Scenalyzer, but I might try to see if it is any different.

Dave T2
Former user wrote on 12/27/2005, 5:42 AM
fldave,

I use the Windows Firewall and AVG antivirus. The antivirus is not set up to monitor all of the time, only on demand. I disabled the Firewall for the 1394 connection. It didn't make any difference. I think it is a camera problem, but thanks for the suggestions.

Dave T2
johnmeyer wrote on 12/27/2005, 9:35 AM
This may or may not help, but there is a "dropped frame" FAQ at the VASST site that my give you some ideas. Here's the link (you need to complete the free VASST sign-up, if you haven't done so already, in order to access this):

Dropped Frame FAQ
Former user wrote on 12/27/2005, 12:55 PM
Thanks John, but this is not a dropped frames issue. My timecode readout disappears. The video capture continues, but the timecode readout on screen reverts to 00:00:00 regardless of what the tape says or when the tape was recorded. This used to work flawlessly and allowed me to recapture scenes with frame accuracy.

Now there is not timecode reference, so that is not possible. I believe for some reason the firewire connection on the camera is malfunctioning.

Dave T2