Video8 tape not playing on DCR-TRV460 Digital8?
 

I have a regular (not Hi8) Video8 tape that was recorded on a Sony CCD-FX435 NTSC. It plays back fine on the original camera.

I got a Sony DCR-TRV460 to try to get the best transfer to my computer possible, but when I put the tape in I don't get any playback on the camera. I thought I did my research and that this model would play back everything.

On Playback the camera does flash that it it is changing from Digital8 to Hi8/8, but I don't get timecode or anything except a blue screen. I don't see anywhere in the menu to force it to Video8.

Any ideas?

Edit, this tape was 2 hours long...is this an SP/LP issue?

Did you try to clean the heads?

I have not. I'll need to get ahold of a cleaning tape but can give that a shot.

You are correct in thinking that that model should be able to playback Hi8 and Video8 tapes.
If you haven't already, download the manual direct from Sony here.

In it you will see that there is a "PB" setting that will force the camcorder into analog play mode.

However, Hi8 and Video8 playback in a D8 camcorder (the ones that can do it - some cannot at all) can be problematic. This was also discussed in a thread on this forum here.

BAs you suggest, the problem could be worsened if that the tape is LP, not SP, but I suspect it is not. "120" tapes record 2 hrs in Hi8 and Video8 formats. They record 60 min max. in a D8 camcorder because the tape speed it doubled for digital recordings.

For playback, the D8 camcorder has to sense whether the tape is digital or analog and switch to the proper tape speed, head speed and processing. I assume it defaults to digital so if it can't track/read a particular analog tape quite well enough, it never knows to change modes. I have both a Sony D8 and a Hi8 model. The D8 always misses a few frames at the start of a new section as it tries to determine the format.

Have you played any other tapes in the 460? Have you tried to record anything with it on a fresh tape? I would try that before I cleaned the heads. But dirty heads could definitely be the problem.

But this may just be a case where that specific tape won't play in that specific D8 camcorder. This appears to be a risk when using a D8 for analog playback.

BW

I ran some other tapes through the 460. All from the same camera. These were different brands and duration rated tapes, but none showed timecode or video/audio but did trigger the Digital 8-->Hi8/8 and SP notification.

I could not find a way to adjust playback format in playback mode, only record mode. So in record mode I set it to LP and went to playback. It stayed in LP until I hit play and then returned to Hi8/8 SP. Not sure if that is because that's the tapes format or because that's the only mode it supports.

The PB Mode menu choice (under the Standard Menu) should let you force analog playback. This from the manual:
Attachment 13017

But if it's already indicating that is switching to "Hi8/8 SP" automatically, but is not playing anything, that may not help.

If I understand correctly, you cannot get any analog tape you have to play on the 460. Correct?

Trying to play or record a D8 tape would be informative as well as trying a tape recorded from different Video8 or Hi8 camcorder. But those may not be things you have at hand. Head cleaning another option to try as previously suggested.

There are a lot of "caveats" in the manual about what does and doesn't work when playing analog tapes, but none seem to apply to your issues.

BW