Re: DV Tape Playback Problem

Rabid man wrote:
Shot some video with a new tape on my camera. Playback is fine on my
jvc dv deck until about 30 mins in. I then get a "use cleaning
cassette" message on the screen as it turns blue. This message doesn't
come up when I play other tapes, but I ran my tape cleaner anyway.
Still doesn't work and I really need this footage as its for pay

Does the tape play back on the camera? If so, use the firewire or other output on the camera to transfer what's on the tape to a known good support. Then get the deck fully serviced.

If the deck truly has dirty heads, why wouldn't this message come up
when playing other tapes ? It's my conclusion it is the tape, it was
brand new and I haven't had this problem before. I can fast forward
and picture returns briefly in spots, then goes
blue.

The message is coming up because the deck isn't getting a good enough signal off this particular tape. It doesn't know why, just that the signal is too weak. The message to use a cleaning tape is the standard message in the deck controlling software for this problem.

This could be due to a problem with the cassette housing, a problem with the camera heads being dirty when you made the recording, or the camera and deck alignment being just out of line with each other enough that a slightly weak signal drops below the acceptable threshold. It's also possible that the camera head got clogged at about 30 minutes into the recording, in which case the recording is no good. If you're getting flashes of picture in fast wind mode, then the signal's probably there, but alignment is out or the cassette case is defective. If the back tension varies, for example, due to a sticky casing, then the tape won't wrap properly round the head drum, & the signal is lost. You get the same problem & symptoms if the deck has a problem with the reel brakes.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.
.

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