Posted by Rick Merrill on 06/02/06 18:43

Gene E. Bloch wrote:

> On 6/02/2006, raida4life@yahoo.com posted this:
>
>> David Matthew Wood wrote:
>>
>>>> I recently had some people helping me out with some video recordings.
>>>> Some tapes I got in 8mm and have always been able to transfer these to
>>>> VHS or DVD via RCA cables. Similarly I got some that were Digital 8 and
>>>> I was able to do likewise.
>>>>
>>>> Recently I got some Mini DV (not Mini DVD) tapes and discovered after
>>>> the fact that all of these recordings were done in such a format that
>>>> the Audio is not reproducible by any other means than from the guy who
>>>> taped these for me. The video always comes through fine, it's just the
>>>> audio I am having trouble with. I tried a couple of iterations of
>>>> swapping out the audio cables and made sure they were properly
>>>> connected.
>>>>
>>>> He left a few untransfered to DVD for me and now I am stuck with Mini
>>>> DV tapes that I can not get the sound out of. I suspect these were
>>>> recorded in 16 bit Audio, because all of the 12 Bit recordings play
>>>> back just fine. I have tried in vain using other camcorders and even
>>>> messed with every combination of audio setting on the camcorder with
>>>> the RCA jacks, but the Audio just does not come through. I have only
>>>> tried using RCA jacks, I am not familiar with other technologies.
>>>>
>>>> If someone can help me figure out how to recover the audio from these
>>>> recordings along with the video stream, I would be very thankful.
>>>
>>>
>>> Double check the audio settings on whatever it is you're playing back
>>> on. Since the audio on his tapes is in 16-bit 48khz mode, there will
>>> only be audio on channels 1 and 2 while 12-bit 32khz mode (even though
>>> there is a loss in sound quality this way) can have 4 channels of audio.
>>
>>
>> I bought 4 different players and had to return each as every time I
>> changed the settings either I got no sound or intermittent sound
>> playback. Each time I tried this I played them back and made sure the
>> cables weren't loose. I just wonder if this is all due to the fact that
>> I am using RCA jacks to try and retreive the audio and video from these
>> tapes. I am concerned that I may get other recordings like this from
>> Mini DV tapes in the future, and that the tapes may not be able to be
>> played back because this is a problem with Mini DV technology.
>
>
> I've recorded audio in 12-bit (accidentally) and 16-bit (intentionally)
> and never had "a problem with Mini DV technology". You've got some
> settings wrong somewhere, but from your description I can't guess what.
>
>> I have camcorder equipment that can playback 8mm, Digital 8 tapes and
>> even VHS C, but I have only experienced this problem with Mini DV. I
>> will try the firewire option as someone suggested. I guess it is time I
>> got with the times. One thing I noticed is that several camera manuals
>> indicate that you can only playback 16 bit audio recordings in 12 bit
>> audio mode.In many cases when I tried to change the settings on most of
>> these cameras they would not let me change the Audio to 16 bit.
>
>
> Your last two sentences don't make sense to me.
>
> 1. You can't play 16-bit recordings in 12-bit mode. However, AFIK, the
> camera will automatically play tapes in the mode they are recorded in,
> so you shouldn't have to make any settings.
>
> 2. In the record mode, you can only change the settings for future
> recordings; as I read your last sentence I wonder if you meant that
> while you were in playback mode, you were trying to change the record
> mode of an existing tape...
>
> You might mention what camcorder or player you're using so someone who
> knows the equipment or has the manual can guide you more accurately.
>

I wonder if he recorded in "VR " mode instead of "Video" mode?

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