Having problem printing to tape -- won't do video!

I am suddenly having a problem printing to tape. I am trying to make a mini-DV master of a show I just edited. I am using a Sony VX2000 camcorder connected to the computer via FireWire. I used this exact same system and setup only a few days ago to print to tape, and it worked fine. But today I cannot get it to work. Oddly enough the audio will record to tape but not the video. I have never experienced this before. I have manipulated every system setting and device control preset I can find, all to no avail. I end up with the same problem: audio prints to tape, but video does not. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am at my wit's end. I have spent 6+ hours trying to do something that should have taken 15 minutes. Perhaps it is something very obvious I am missing. Thank you for any advice you can provide.

PS- The only peripherals I have connected to the system are a LaCie 500GB hard drive and and Epson printer, both of which were connected to the system when I printed to tape a few days ago.

<U>SPECS</U>
FCP 5.1.2
Mac OS X 10.4.8
Sony VX2000 camcorder

Is Log and Capture open?

Have you checked your Audio/Video Settings? External Devices? View External Video? (View menu)

Are you trying to just play from the timeline and record? Is your Canvas set to Fit to Window or smaller?


www.derekmok.com

Like I said, I have changed and manipulated ALL of the Audio/Video settings. I have changed and manipulated ALL of the External Device settings. I have changed and manipulated ALL of the View External Video settings.

I am not just trying to play from the timeline and record. I am trying to used the Print to Tape function (control + M). Yes, the canvas is set to Fit to Window.

But none of this would seem to explain why I can record audio onto the min-DV tape but cannot record video. Like I said, I have never seen this before.

> Like I said, I have changed and manipulated ALL of the Audio/Video settings. I have changed
> and manipulated ALL of the External Device settings. I have changed and manipulated ALL of
> the View External Video settings.

Don't take your frustrations out on us, deal?

If you changed all of the settings, did you change them back when they didn't work? Trying every setting available can take you off the right track.

Use Easy Setup to restore all default FireWire settings. Then try again, with Edit to Tape.


www.derekmok.com

I'm sorry I sounded rude. I truly didn't mean to. As I stated in my initial post, I have already tried all the setting changes I can think of. I have changed them singly and in a variety of combo, attempting to Print to Tape after each setting change. I've had no luck. I suspect there is some setting conflict between the settings I used to import the clips and the settings I am using to print to tape, which is why the audio goes to tape but the video does not. Do you know of any specific setting changes that could affect this? Like I said, I am at a total loss. I do not know what other settings I can change. Please let me know if you can think of anything. Thank you.

Mantra around here is, - if all was well before and suddenly not well, trash your preferences and try again. And make sure Range Check is not on.

Michael Horton
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Quote

Please let me know if you can think of anything. Thank you.

I can't tell from your last post if you took Derek's suggestion, and went back to the basics with EasySetup and NTSC-DV. That would be my first suggestion.

Second is trash your prefs, which Michael already suggested.

Then, how 'bout trying to print to tape whatever you printed to tape last week?
How about a new NTSC-DV sequence with just a clip or two -- will that go to tape?
Does your camera show video when you're just in the timeline? Can you playback that way?
What kind of camera/deck are you using?
Has it been reset to take analog inputs for video instead of 1394?
Install anything new on your machine lately?

Now it's semi-working, but things get even weirder.

1) I took Derek's advice and went back to Easy Setup DV NTSc, and it did not work. Same problem as before. Audio will print to tape but video will not.
2) I did a test export of the sequence from another project that I had successfully exported last week. That sequence exported just fine.
3) I took the first 45 seconds of the sequence from the project that is not working and pasted it into a new timeline and tried to print it to tape. It worked except... every time it got to a freeze frame, of which there are three in the first 45 seconds, the freeze frames squeezed out to a different aspect ratio. The project is 680x480 but I think the freeze frames are automatically going to 720x480. That's my guess, but who knows. Now I am going to investigate and find out. Maybe the dueling aspect ratios were screwing up my previous Print To Tape attempts.

Back to the FCP saltmines!

PS-I haven't installed anything new on my machine lately. The video shows up just fine on my timeline. I am using a Sony VX2000 camcorder to go to tape. I also learned that someone who was using my system a couple of days ago tried to hook up an NTSC monitor to the system, but couldn't get it to work. I don't think he changed any settings, but perhaps he did.

What happens if you just play the timeline out to the cam after all is rendered? And are you SURE Range Check is OFF.

Michael Horton
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> The project is 680x480

Ohhhhh...it's an unorthodox frame size. What's your frame rate in the non-working sequence? Codec? Select the sequence and press APPLE-0 to check.

If you've got a weird set of sequence settings, no wonder you can't output to DV tape. You'll probably need to put the whole thing in a DV NTSC sequence and then remove all distortions, resizes etc. in order to output.


www.derekmok.com

"> The project is 680x480 "
Are you sure this is not a typo and not 640 X 480?