Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Over the last year I have received hundreds of e-mails requesting help to solve Studio400 problems. Some answers were easy as I, too, had encountered similar problems. Others required a little research to find the technical reason behind the problem, and then a few experiments with the user to home in on a solution. This is a collection of the most common topics.

Sound Questions

I cannot record original camcorder or CD sound on my VCR. Sound effects are recorded OK. I am using a SBLive! Value soundcard.

You are probably plugged into the wrong Line-Out socket on the soundcard. You should be connected to the Front socket.

CD sound is not recorded on my VCR unless I render it to a wav file.

If you are using a SBLive! card this can be caused by having selected 'What U Hear' in the set of soundcard Recording controls. It is also the case that, if the first CD drive in your system (the one with the lowest drive letter) is not the one linked to your soundcard, then you will not get CD audio.

I am using Mic-In on my soundcard and camcorder sounds are distorted. Feeding the VCR directly from the camcorder sounds OK.

You need to disable the microphone boost amplifier. This is usually found amongst the mixer recording controls, and is often labeled 'Advanced'. Be aware also that only the left channel will be used as the microphone input is normally not stereo.

Camcorder Questions

How do I know if I have timecode?

It is surprising, the number of users that think they have timecode, when they don't. This misunderstanding can lead to very inaccurate cutting, and great difficulty in setting VCR delays. It is an easy assumption to make, since Studio400 displays its time in the timecode format regardless of whether the camcorder supports this mode.

Check how time is displayed in the camcorder viewfinder. If the right hand digits change rapidly, this is a good indication.
If the camera is a Sony model, the timecode option is generally selected in one of the menus.
During Capture and Make Movie, you should see the 'TC' symbol appear in the s400 virtual camcorder window.
Remove your tape from the camcorder, then replace it. If you have timecode the code will be shown in the viewfinder. If not, the counter will be zero.

I Know I have timecode, but when I make tape the TC symbol does not appear.

This is because your original recording did not start right at the beginning of the source tape. It is best to wind forward a few seconds, then Make Tape. The camcorder will play for a moment, then rewind to the correct point on the tape.

What is the 'Edit' switch on my camcorder for?

This bypasses the 'picture enhancement' filter at the output circuit of the camcorder. If you make a VCR copy with this filter connected, it often reacts with the VCR input circuit and produces a harsh grainy picture. Switch Edit ON when copying tapes to a VCR, or when using an editor such as Studio400. You may get a better picture with this switched OFF when your camcorder is connected directly to your TV.

VCR Questions

My VCR has 4 heads. Is this the same as Flying Erase Heads.

No. Multiple heads are used for dual speed decks and improved freeze frame performance. Flying erase heads (FEH) are also fitted to the drum but are used to accurately erase parts or all of the helical video tracks rather than the full width of the tape. VCRs with FEHs are usually classed as Edit machines and generally have accurate and stable delay characteristics. This is not automatically implied by multiple replay head machines.

I bought a SCART lead for my VCR but I cannot get it to work.

There are many varieties of SCART leads. The most useful have 6 RCA connectors - Video In/Out, Stereo Audio In/Out. The problem with most of these leads, whatever the configuration, is the labelling of the leads themselves. These labels generally refer to the equipment you are connecting to, not the VCR function. For example - 'Video-In' is actually the Video Output of the VCR. A good tip is to write arrows on the labels showing the direction of the signals for future reference.

I want to buy a new VCR. Should this be S-VHS?

If you regularly make more than one VHS copy of your productions then the answer should be yes, even if you are not using High-Band source tapes. If, however, your budget cannot stretch to a high quality S-VHS edit-quality machine, then on balance you will be better spending your money on a decent Edit-class VHS machine. Generation loss will be more apparent (which may not be noticed on domestic TVs), but the glitch performance will be optimum.

Some VCRs have TBC. What is this for? Is it worth the extra money?

TBC is short for Time Base Corrector. If you are likely to make copies from your VCR, then this will be a facility worth having. It stabilises the picture so that copying to another VCR produces minimal horizontal jitter. This is not required when feeding a TV from the VCR because TVs have a built in tolerance to this kind of problem. Many High-end analogue camcorders and all digital camcorders have TBC circuits built in to them as standard.

GDoc Questions

I have made a calibration movie with GDoc, then sat down and watched it. All I see are lots of numbers changing, too fast to read. What am I doing wrong?

You must use your VCR Pause/Jog/Shuttle controls to view the joins in your movie. You will then discover what corrections to make to your delay settings. Average your results over several joins to get an accurate reading.

The frame numbers do not change sometimes from one frame to the next. I am having difficulty in cutting scenes into the timeline.

You are using NTSC, and have GDoc set to PAL.

The correction advice I get from your program changes gradually as the clips progress. I have averaged these and still get bad sound glitches.

You are probably not using timecode, yet do not have SmartSeek switched on. What is happening is that your camcorder is dropping frames each time it seeks the next clip. You most have SmartSeek ON and High-Speed Search OFF if you do not have timecode.

I am using a high quality VCR, but my GDoc results are wild. One clip may say Add 12, and the next says to Subtract 14. Is there something wrong with the VCR?

No, what has happened is that the delay values you started with are outside the +/- 1/2 second range of GDoc. You should find that if you start with a Pause delay value of zero, you should be OK. The Record delay is the one you need to take care with. Either take the Seconds digit into account when taking readings, or try again with either 15 added or subtracted from your starting value of Record delay.

Glitch Doctor seems to be showing me scenes that are several seconds away from where I cut the original scene. Also, my clips do not always start on green, and end on red. The numbers I read are also all over the place.

Firstly, the most obvious comment is that you are not using Timecode. Secondly, you are probably suffering from blankspots in footage that exists on the tape before your GDoc section. These are mostly caused by having previewed your tape during shooting, and failing to set the camera at the end of your last scene before continuing with the next shoot. Always record GDoc at the start of a tape if you do not have timecode.