CompuServe Messages

<<used equipment>> I will drop you some e-mail to discuss my particular used equipment, its condition, and the pricing. Public negotiation is frowned upon in the forum. However, let me comment on your other questions since others here may benefit. >> The guy said the chances of getting worn out equipment was about >> 95%…. The guy was pretty accurate. Frame accurate recording beats the heck out of video equipment. For the most part, it requires the deck to preroll, record a single frame, stop, and do it again and again for each frame. If my math is right, a 3 second preroll, would require each particular frame of tape to cross the heads about 90 times. This yields far more wear and tear than standard video editting usage. However, upkeep and routine maintenance dramatically extend the life of the equipment. Most decks track the number of editting hours logged on them. Before buying, verify how many hours of use a deck has, and when the last factory service, calibration or head replacement took place. >> What output board do you guys use….? We use a software only solution for deck control: Diaquest DQ232. And a Targa 64+ for a frame buffer. >> You talked about dropped frames… Don Landis knows a lot more about video, but let me offer my understanding of some basics. Perhaps Don can jump in and offer any additional info he has. There are two different problems using the word "drop". The first is dropped frames, which may indicate bad time code on a tape or software/hardware problems. "Dropout" is more common and refers to "noise" appearing on the tape. This often occurs from the magnetic media being worn out or flaking off the tape. Dirty or worn recording heads and cheap tape greatly increase dropout. By "good tape handling" I meant a couple of things I do here as standard operating procedure. First, tapes are dirt cheap compared to the cost of an animation – so use 1 tape per job. Hi-8 tapes have extremely small reels. It has been suggested that more dropout occurs at the very beginning and the very end of a tape because of the tight winding of the tape – so try to record several minutes into a tape. Also, ejecting tapes may cause slight stretching of the tape. Always rewind to the beginning before ejecting. Last, use good tapes – we like the Sony P6-30HMPX, and others here have had good results with the Maxell tapes. – Dave