Posted by Richard Crowley on 06/18/06 14:16

"Gary Eickmeier" wrote ...
>I have the Sony VX-2000, considered one of the best Mini-DV camcorders.
>The reliability and compatibility with other Sony cameras is terrific.
>We can record anything with one of our Sonys, and it will play on all
>of the others without question. We shoot mostly at LP speed, because
>many of our jobs are long weddings, dance recitals, or graduations. No
>problem - usually.
>
> My camera developed a sound dropout problem, in which a frame or two
> of audio, but not the video, would be missing, causing a stuttering of
> the sound as captured and a visible gap in the timeline audio
> waveform. It apparently has something to do with each sweep of the
> head drum, because it is frame based, or sometimes multiple frames.
>
> I sent it in to the Sony depot in Connecticut (I forget their name).
> It came back incompatible with our other Sony cameras. I sent it back
> again, with a careful note and a tape recorded on another, known good
> Sony, at both speeds.

"Known good" by what method? I'd trust my service
guy's calibration reference tape more than any of the
100s of tapes sitting on my shelves.

> Told them to align it with that tape so it would be compatible once
> again. They did that, seemingly, but now I am getting this nonsense
> again. It showed up in spades with an 80 minute tape that we shot at
> LP speed so that we could do a 2-hour graduation or four.

The perils of shooting at LP speed have been discussed
here many times. Note that professional cameras don't
even offer the option.

> Here is the interesting part: Most of the gaps are not audible in the
> analog output of the sound track - just when I transfer to the
> computer with firewire. I listen to the track on headphones, and it is
> pretty solid. I record the track to a separate audio recorder, a
> minidisc unit, and it plays fine and transfers back into the computer
> fine, saving me somewhat. It is as if that one last bit of digital
> audio information is not getting on tape sometimes, but the audio is
> still there, or most of it. It just doesn't all make it to the
> firewire output.
>
> Seems like I need a better tape to head alignment, but no one seems to
> know how to do it. A local shop I took it to (Southern Photo Tech)
> said they don't have the equipment to work on that camera, and I
> should be happy with SP speed anyway.
>
> I want to know if any of you have a handle on this problem,

I never shoot in LP speed. If it isn't worth SP, it isn't
worth shooting. At the first sign of mis-tracking I take
my equipment in to be checked against the reference
calibration tape.

> or know a service center that does, or would be competent to align my
> heads to factory specs. The Sony centers are pretty much useless,
> because you can't talk to the technicians, they charge a standard
> price of about $500 no matter what it needs, and they don't seem to
> care much about the quality of their work.

So find a local shop who does good work. Sony
"certification" (or whatever it is) is apparently not
as significant as good, conscientious work. If you
were in the Pacific northwest, I would highly
recommend my service shop. (Pro Video & Tape
in Beaverton, OR)

> I also wouldn't mind knowing why Mini-DV cameras do not have auto
> tracking like most good VHS machines had, where they will track a
> signal no matter what camera or machine it was recorded on.

Of course they have "auto-tracking" or they would not
play back at all. But there is only so much range of
tracking adjustment. If you have tapes outside the range
(or if the mechanicals are right at the edge of the spec)
then you will see/hear the kinds of problems you are
describing.

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