A bizarre Premiere Pro / Sony Z1 capture problem

zachxx · #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2005, 12:30 AM

I expect this is due to having accidentally changed one of the hundreds of menu options on the Z1, but I can't work out what I have done wrong.

Firstly, I am in the UK, so I use PAL, not NTSC. So the camera is set to 50i.

I have shot several hours footage over the last 3 months with the Z1 and captured it all perfectly with Premiere Pro 1.5. I have shot all of this as HDV and then down-convert in camera to DV into the computer.

Then last week I was asked to do a shoot, but told I had to record it in DV as they needed to playback the tape on their machines. So I changed my Z1 from recording HDV to DV.

This weekend, I was shooting a short film, and I set my Z1 back to record in HDV. Today, I have been trying to capture it but something VERY strange is happening:

When I open the Capture window in Premiere Pro and use the controls to playback the tape, it plays as if it is in slo-mo, with all the sound reduced in frequency. When I try to capture this, it gives the error "Lost connection to device".
When the Capture window is NOT open, and I move the cursor along the timeline, the LCD on the camera shows a distorted version of the image (as you get when watching a bad satellite TV program) and the display on the LCD changes to "DV SP 60i" in the top left. Why 60i ???? That would be NTSC!!!

When I playback on the camera itself, the display says "HDV1080i 50i" and the playback image and sound are great.

Now the even more bizarre thing is that if I open Windows MovieMaker 2 and capture with that, then the capture looks and sounds fine. And when I play the clips it creates, they play and sound fine. But when I put them on the MovieMaker Timeline, then they play in slo-mo just like in Premiere!!!

And if I play the AVI file which MovieMaker created using RealPlayer or similar, then it plays slo-mo.

BUT, if I capture using MovieMaker to a WMV file instead of to AVI then the WMV file plays back perfectly!!! But of course, a WMV file is no use to edit in Premiere!!!

Now I have done some tests... the problem is not with the new tape, because I am now getting this problem with my old tapes too. So the problem must lie either with my computer or with the Z1. My bet (as I had to change several settings) is that the problem is the Z1.

So does anyone know what I have done wrong?????

Thanks.

fastedit · #2 (**permalink**) 10-17-2005, 07:52 PM

Hi,
Firstly let me just dasy i have the camera on loan and not had much experence with it!

I have seen this in liquid edition and I think its something to do with the settings for HDV and DV down conversion.

For down converting to a DV edit suite the settings should be:

I-Link downcovert - ON
Downconvert - Squeeze (this means the edit suite recognises the footage as widescreen)

Also check that when the camera is connected up to the pc that the light on the side (next to the dv connecter) is on DV and not HDV

Hope this helps

zachxx · #3 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 04:12 AM

Thank you for your reply.

Those are the settings I have got.
And yes, the DV light by the Firewire port does light up.

So maybe the problem is with my computer???

fastedit · #4 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 11:43 AM

It could be your computer, although you say it was working before?

The other thing could be that the camera is recording in DVCAM and not standard DV.

Nick

zachxx · #5 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by fastedit

It could be your computer, although you say it was working before?

The other thing could be that the camera is recording in DVCAM and not standard DV.

Nick

The camera is recording in HDV 1080i. I think this is totally independant of DVCAM/DV isn't it?

It is only on output that it is being downconverted to DV.

I am doing this so that now I can create a standard DVD, but in the future, I will be able to re-import and create a HD-DVD (when they have decided on a standard) !!!

fastedit · #6 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 06:06 PM

That will be the day!

Sorry i got confused! The camera should be downconverting in standard DV. Have you tried any other cameras? This would aloow you to see if it was the camera or the computer causing the problem

zachxx · #7 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by fastedit

Have you tried any other cameras? This would aloow you to see if it was the camera or the computer causing the problem

You are quite right. That would have been my first choice of test. But I don't have access to any other cameras...

At least I have found a temporary workaround... I capture using MovieMaker2, then split the AVI file using Scenalyzer (which I have only just discovered), then Import into Premiere. This takes ages, but at least it means I can get on with my (urgent) project for now...

fastedit · #8 (**permalink**) 10-18-2005, 11:32 PM

Ok good.

Ive got the Z1 on load till the end of the week so Ill let you know if i find anything else out.

Nick

talaash · #9 (**permalink**) 10-20-2005, 11:24 AM

I have been using HDR-FX1 for about 8 months now. No such problems, although there are a few things that should be avoided.

1. Do not mix HD and DVD footage even for one second. Always separate tapes.

2. When pressing record, with certain tapes (even certain Sony dvd tapes) if you press and depress the record button quickly, its causes all sorts of problems, such as dropped frames, which I hate, but seems to be an issue with the HDR-FX1.

3. Check your cables, if you have chnged it for some reason try a new one (firewire cable) if you are connecting directly to pc.

4. If you are using XP use MSconfig and boot with just the operating system essentials, in case there is a conflict in your computer. This has saved me hours of headaches.

5. Do not leave tapes close to any magnetic appliances and speakers.

6. If its slow motion then its in HD format I believe, it has not been downgraded to DV, if you transfer it as full HD it will be either blurry or slower when its played back. So maybe there is an issue with the downsampling to DV format of your camera. Set all options back to default, there is a button on the camera that can do that for you, check your manual.

7. Good luck.

hope some of it helped if not hope it was not too boring.

fastedit · #10 (**permalink**) 10-21-2005, 05:33 PM

Cool thanks for that, might come in handy!