BLACK STRIPING

[dalelpaq]

I was unsuccessful at downloading some recent video which I presently attribute to a broken timecode.

What is the latest thinking about black striping a DV tape before using it? I do lots of cam on/off over the course of a single tape. Will this fix future time code problems? If I rewind to view shot video then start shooting again before the previous shot is finished, does this affect timecode? Pros and cons? Thanks, Dale

[Steve Grisetti]

Broken timecode usually happens when you shoot some video, then watch it and then don't overlap the next piece you shoot onto the old. Even a break of half a second is enough to convince a camcorder than you're using a new tape and that it should reset the timecode to zero.

Black striping will certainly ensure that doesn't happen, since you'll be recording onto existing timecode.

But it may not be necessary. A simpler way to avoid the problem is just to shoot a few extra seconds of video before you rewind and play it back. Then, before you start shooting again, make sure you've got the tape cued up to begin ON TOP OF the last part of what you've already shot.

A little inconvenient maybe. But no more so than having to spend an hour striping every tape before you use it, in my opinion.

But that's up to you, Dale.

[RJ Johnston]

It may also depend on the model of camcorder and the video editor. Black stripping has caused me problems recently. It's because the date and time of the black stripping had an earlier date than the preceding shot. When I stopped capturing, the last thing captured was the black stripping with an earlier date. When I dragged the clip to the timeline, only one frame appeared even though the clip I captured was several minutes long.