1. Can DVCAM recognize SMPTE timecode? (ie, a tc x-fer from DBeta)

2. If so, then which of the Sony DV decks can read SMPTE timecode from the DVCAM for editing? (So an offline EDL can be generated for an online session.)

3. Which of the Sony DV decks can actually write SMPTE timecode to the DVCAM tape?

4. Can EditDV recognize SMPTE timecode and generate a industry standard EDL (Grass Valley, Sony9100?)

-- Dana Alexander (dalex@interlog.com), February 04, 1999

Answers

Dana:

Only a very few of the DVCAM decks out there are full-blown SMPTE timecode capable. And they have to have the full TC option (a board that plugs in the back of the deck). I believe only the Sony DSR-80 and DSR-85 have full TC options available. They also have the ability to "insert" timecode on existing DVCAM tapes, but this insert is NOT frame accurate! (Apparently it is only there to eliminate discontinuous timecode, a common "problem" in DV-land.)

That said, ALL of the DV and DVCAM prosumer decks out there have drop- frame timecode on them; all generate new timecode if there isn't any on the tape (though you can't set the time itself). In all cases, the timecode is imbedded in the DV data stream and is frame accurate, though the decks themselves may or may not be frame accurate for editing. (All the DVCAM decks are closer to frame accurate than any of the DV decks.) None that I know of have any way of sensing timecode in, except through Firewire. (See Cloning below.)

EditDV can indeed generate an "industry standard" EDL, but only referencing drop-frame timecode source tapes. If you happen to be one of the few lucky people with a DSR-80/85 that can actually match timecode from your DBeta master, be sure that master timecode is drop- frame, or EditDV will not let you batch capture it. (My guess is a future release of EditDV will likely support non-drop also, but it is currently limited to only two decks out there, thus low on Radius' priority list.)

A note on Cloning masters: The DSR-30 (I think) deck also can make an exact clone, INCLUDING timecode, but you have to have two of the decks to do so; most decks will generate new timecode when dubbing, even though the image across firewire is a one-to-one dub (no generation loss). Of course, this doesn't help if your master is DigiBeta. ;-)

Good luck.

r. zane rutledge - 668 - http://www.dnai.com/~zane

PS. There may be other non-Sony decks out there with similar/more options. I haven't kept up on all of them...

-- r. zane rutledge (zane@dnai.com), February 08, 1999.

The answer is yes. I have been researching this question and the 2 formats DVcam (Sony) and DVCPro (Panasonic) both have TC capability. NFL FILMS has transferred all of their library to DVCPro and use this format to load into AVIDs thru a serial bus. AVID' s website has a list of decks that are supported and can be used to load in.

-- John Knapich (napsac@earthlink.net), February 10, 1999.