[cjb]

Hi,
I recently aquired a Canon MVX450 after trialling a Panasonic.
I bought a pack of 3 Sony tapes at the outset and used all 3 to take as much test video on both cameras as possible while I decided which cam to keep.
I have since been taking more footage that I now want to keep, which has been subsequently recorded over the original test footage.
Alarmingly, I now find that some of my most recent footage won't play back in the camera without showing blocking in the centre and no sound !!!!!
When I first noticed this I thought it was the shots taken on the Panasonic that were bad, but I now find that my most recent shots on the Canon won't play, but the original shots taken on the Panasonic WILL.
I assume that as with VCR, there is an automatic tracking or head align, cos there is no manual adjustment.
Has anyone else had this problem and what is likely to be the cause.
The tapes and camera are kept in a warm place so it shouldn't be moisture on the heads.
It appears to be random depending which tape I put in.
I have read the FAQ and there is a mention of TIMECODE.. could this be my problem and how should I overcome this.. or not !!!
HELP.
P.S. I have since tried a cleaning tape which had no effect on the already dodgy playback. If it was due to dirty heads I don't see why some of the earliest recordings are still OK while the latest are bad.

[redsox_mark]

I can't explain why this is happening, though I can rule out issues with TIMECODE. If you are ejecting tapes in and out you can end up with discontinuous timecode, but that won't impact video quality, the worst that can do is give you a bit of hassle when capturing to a PC.

If you have recorded in LP mode on one camcorder (e.g. the Panasonic) and try and play that on another camcorder that can cause playback problems... but you say you are having trouble with the new Canon footage. If you used a combination of SP and LP on the same tape that could cause confusion...

Have you tried the camcorder with a new tape to see if there are issues with that? Maybe the camcordrer is faulty.

[cjb]

Originally Posted by redsox_mark

I can't explain why this is happening, though I can rule out issues with TIMECODE. If you are ejecting tapes in and out you can end up with discontinuous timecode, but that won't impact video quality, the worst that can do is give you a bit of hassle when capturing to a PC.

If you have recorded in LP mode on one camcorder (e.g. the Panasonic) and try and play that on another camcorder that can cause playback problems... but you say you are having trouble with the new Canon footage. If you used a combination of SP and LP on the same tape that could cause confusion...

Have you tried the camcorder with a new tape to see if there are issues with that? Maybe the camcordrer is faulty.

no, all my recordings have been at the same level, only experimented with widescreen. It very much seems as if its a VCR type tracking alignment problem. The recordings that show this problem all have no sound or it comes in briefly , together with this noisy 'blocking 'pattern on the screen.
I bought from Jessops so I will take into store and see what they say. Its really worrying that I now have unrepeatable recordings which will not play.. good job I transferred to PC and DVD as soon as I did.
So another major manufacturer lets me down... first 2 LCD TV rejects, then my LG DVD recorder goes back and now its Canon's turn. What price quality

[cjb]

I am going to attempt to attach a small example, the guy at Jessops seems to think it could be dirty heads but the random noise pattern makes him think otherwise. They want to send it away so I thought I would try another new tape and experiment.
Anyway, I will attacha small sample frame grab, and hopefully a mpg file ...

[MarkE19]

I would tend to think that the problem is a mechanical fault with the camcorder.
If the cam is brand new and less than a month old I would insist on a replacement rather than a repair. I believe that after a month the retailer has the right to only offer a repair under the warrenty.

Mark.