Sound drops on old Mini-DV tapes

[David Hoadley]

While recently copying 8-10 year old Mini-DV tapes (Sony DVC 60 LP-90) to DVD discs, there were repeated sound drop-outs, while playing from my Sony DCR-VX2000 to a Panasonic recorder. Video quality was unaffected. Sound would last a few seconds, then suddently silence a few seconds, then sound again, etc.. This occurred with several old tapes that have been kept in an air conditioned bank lock box, along with VHS & S-VHS tapes and slides. I have tried both a head cleaner and fast forwarding/reversing the tapes --but no improvement. When I played a more recent 2008 Mini-DV tape for comparison, kept in a basement room with a dehumidifier, it played perfectly with no sound problems.

Is there a generational sound loss that is unretrievable from old Mini-DV tapes? (I recently played and copied some 23-26 year old VHS tapes, and they played perfectly.)

 

[James Hammett]

The tapes shouldn't degrade in 8-10 years. Do you have access to another MiniDV camcorder to rule that out? That's the first thing I'd try.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

David - I'd tend to be a little suspect of creating the DVD by running it from the VX2000 straight to a DVD recorder. I don't know anything about Panasonic recorders, but you might also try having someone attempt to capture the video using software on the computer (i.e., Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere, etc.). My guess is there could be some sort of signal loss between the pieces of hardware (sometimes different brands like Sony & Panasonic don't play well together, but also sometimes those DVD recorders are pretty finicky). I'd be curious to try some experimentation using software to capture the video/audio to be sure.

 

[David Hoadley]

Thanks for the suggestion and assurance about tape durability. I do have a nearby friend with an identical camera. I'll contact him after returning from a storm chase next week and try copying from his camera.

 

[David Hoadley]

Mike, thanks for the software suggestion. I previously bought and tried non-fancy, basic "honestech VHS to DVD 4.0 Deluxe" software via my 5-year old Toshiba laptop (with Windows XP). However, after extensive testing, the video-quality transfer through the Panasonic DVD burner was slightly better. I'll have to try one of the ($$$) products you suggested, when I have a week or more to dig through the user guide, translate the arcane computer-geek terminology into normal English, take many notes, and then try to make it actually work.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

... well I don't know that I'd want to go to all that trouble ... but if you're in the neighborhood, always feel free to drop me a line and I'd be happy to try capturing a few minutes just to make sure your audio is intact (my guess is that it's safe & sound). Someone closer by might also be able to do the same. Try that first suggestion first, since it's probably the easiest ...

 

[Joey Ketcham]

David,

As already suggested, I too would recommend trying to play it in another camcorder. When I worked in TV I came across similar problems when I was editing and I would move to another editing booth and it would play fine. I never figured out what was causing it, but seemed to be isolated to the players. Hope this fixes it for you.

 

[Steven Marshall]

I use mini dv tapes for news and chasing...and they have a limited shelf life. I use the tapes no more than 3 passes then its pitched. Ive lost too many good news stories due to dirty/bad tapes.

I have 30 or so tapes stored here in my office with significant video on them that I have to keep. Every once in a while I will check one out to make sure its ok....and Im starting to see some degradation in the tapes. This is ESPECIALLY bad in the older tapes because in the early years of mini dv tapes, the quality just wasnt there and there was wide variations in tape quality and manufacturing techniques among the makers.

New tapes I expect to hang around for a while but the first generation of tapes have poor shelf life. This may be your issue, but as others have suggested, try it in some other player/camera.