robertfromroma

Q: FCPX skipping on tape import. Root cause analysis ?

Dear friends,

I have a Sony TRV-900E videocamera connected via FW800 to an iMac late 2009 with 16GB RAM, a 2,8 i7 quad core and a single original 1TB HDD with El Capitan.

 

When I import any of my miniDV tapes (which are from 2000 to 2012 approx and have been wound and rewound prior to capture and which have been mostly recorded in only one take on new Sony tapes and never reused) FCPX imports the footage in fragments of random size (from a few hundredK to 10-14MB) and frequently shows dropped frames and some audio distortion when imported into the timeline and replayed.

 

Tried creating archives first and then importing but the end result is the same.

 

What I cannot understand is that, at least seemingly, none of these "corruption" issues appears if I look/hear the tapes in the Sony videocamera itself !!!

 

I did try to use iMovie and same fragmentation occurs so I guess it's not related to FCPX sw itself.

 

Until now I was capturing on the iMac's 1TB HDD and now have tried to import on a 128GB SSD used in a USB enclosure (which is USB3 but if I'm not mistaken my iMacs USB ports are USB2). Same skipping occurs.

 

Maybe I need to setup the SSD in a different way and not only define it as the save directory for the imports?

 

If better ideas don't come to your mind the next tests I'll do are:

 

a) buy a NEW tape and try recording and importing from it. If this works it would indicate the older tapes are damaged but that would not explain why they seem good in the camera.

 

b) buy an head cleaning tape and carefully using it and see if the read/import would get better.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Message was edited by: robertfromroma. Added MacOS version. FCPX is 10.1

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), Late 2009, 16GB RAM, 2.8 GHz i7

Posted on Sep 30, 2016 5:40 AM

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Q: FCPX skipping on tape import. Root cause analysis ?

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  • by ChiralChris,

    ChiralChris ChiralChris Oct 3, 2016 2:19 PM in response to robertfromroma
    Level 1 (8 points)
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    Oct 3, 2016 2:19 PM in response to robertfromroma

    Hi Robert,

     

    Using a head cleaning tape is the very first thing you would do in the situation you were describing.  Head cleaning cassettes usually come in with bulk mini dv tapes of 5packs, you probably have one if you buy in bulk.  If you've had this camera for 10 years or so, I'm assuming this isn't the first time you've used a head cleaning cassette?  If so, you most certainly have dirty heads causing the problems.

  • by Alchroma,

    Alchroma Alchroma Oct 3, 2016 4:50 PM in response to robertfromroma
    Level 6 (19,061 points)
    Video
    Oct 3, 2016 4:50 PM in response to robertfromroma

    Regarding cleaning:

    My suggestion is to take the camera to your local vid cam service specialist for diagnosis and clean.

     

    Video guys have waged war over the topic of wet and dry lube on metal evaporated tape.

    IMO it is a real issue and causes tape chatter one video heads/tape path.

    This causes instabilities.

    Mention this to your service guy.

    Rule of thumb is always use the same brand & type of tape.

     

    Al

  • by robertfromroma,

    robertfromroma robertfromroma Oct 4, 2016 12:34 AM in response to ChiralChris
    Level 1 (9 points)
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    Oct 4, 2016 12:34 AM in response to ChiralChris

    Ahem cough cough ... the camera has around 20 years and has been sitting idle since 2009 and I've NEVER used a cleaning tape :-)

     

    Ciao from Rome, Italy

  • by robertfromroma,

    robertfromroma robertfromroma Oct 4, 2016 12:36 AM in response to Alchroma
    Level 1 (9 points)
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    Oct 4, 2016 12:36 AM in response to Alchroma

    Believe it or not but I'm not able to find anyone servicing the Sony camera within a 30 min drive radius :-( Backward place.

     

    I have mostly always used Sony tapes but a few odd TDK might have crept in.

     

    Again thanks a bunch to you and the other friends for the insightful suggestions.

  • by ChiralChris,

    ChiralChris ChiralChris Oct 4, 2016 1:33 AM in response to robertfromroma
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Oct 4, 2016 1:33 AM in response to robertfromroma

    Hey Robert, can you explain Foxes "joke?" to me please?  Is he saying that because he was not old enough to be around back then when SCSI and firewire were the pinnacle of tech, that he resorts to parodying it instead?.  I remember when the TRV900 came out in 1998, and I edited dv video on my Pentium II 400 Mhz 133 FSB, 5400 RPM hard drive just fine....in 1998.  Firewire was the new hot selling point for consumer pc's then, in regards to mini dv capture, and sony crt trinitron monitors with 4:3 had flat screens (a new hot thing), and FW was the selling point for editing video from start to finish digitally on a pc in a fast speed, that was the hot thing in 98, with computers.  25mbit/s is only 3.6MB/s, my quantum 5400  handled it fine.

  • by ChiralChris,

    ChiralChris ChiralChris Oct 4, 2016 1:36 AM in response to robertfromroma
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Oct 4, 2016 1:36 AM in response to robertfromroma

    Just run a cleaning cassette for 5-10 seconds max.  It will get rid of the grime and dirt.

  • by ChiralChris,

    ChiralChris ChiralChris Oct 4, 2016 2:06 AM in response to robertfromroma
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Oct 4, 2016 2:06 AM in response to robertfromroma

    Don't feel bad, so is my 8mm film camera sitting around for 40 years.  

  • by ChiralChris,

    ChiralChris ChiralChris Oct 4, 2016 11:47 AM in response to fox_m
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Oct 4, 2016 11:47 AM in response to fox_m

    Does anyone in the apple community agree with Robert, that what fox_m posted, contextually, can be considered a joke, as it relates to this thread?  Rob and Fox won't answer.  Can someone explain this supposed joke as Robert calls it?  Thanks.

  • by robertfromroma,

    robertfromroma robertfromroma Oct 5, 2016 2:39 AM in response to ChiralChris
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Video
    Oct 5, 2016 2:39 AM in response to ChiralChris

    Believe it or not but I'm not able to find anyone servicing the Sony camera within a 30 min drive radius :-( Backward place.

     

    I have mostly always used Sony tapes but a few odd TDK might have crept in.

     

    Again thanks a bunch to you and the other friends for the insightful

  • by robertfromroma,

    robertfromroma robertfromroma Oct 5, 2016 2:42 AM in response to ChiralChris
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Video
    Oct 5, 2016 2:42 AM in response to ChiralChris

    Hi Chris,

    sorry for the late reply but life is a bit hectic at the moment.

    I am not sure about your question. I am not an English mother tongue and so if there has been a "joke" I might not have perceived it.

    I hope nothing was said which could be upsetting, and for sure I did not see anything but good ideas and suggestions in this thread.

    Take care and again thank you and the other good jokes that guided me towards what I hope will be the resolution of my camera problems.

    Ciao

    Robert

    Rome - Italy

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