Easy Home Video Editor (150-1963) Timecode Faxback Doc. # 34343 Step 10 Timecode Step 10.1: About Timecode Some advanced camcorders have a feature called timecode. Timecode greatly enhances the accuracy of your productions. The Easy Editor works with camcorder timecodes. It can also make timecoded copies of your tapes, giving your timecode accuracy even if your camcorder doesn't have the feature (see Step 10.5 below). Timecode is an invisible digital signal that numbers each frame. Frames are the individual pictures that comprise the moving video. The advantage of timecode is that, since the editing system can "read" the timecode, editing accuracy is greatly improved - generally to within just a few frames of perfect frame accuracy. (Professional equipment can achieve perfect frame accuracy but consumer equipment usually is accurate to within a few frames. The Easy Editor is as accurate as your camcorder and VCR will permit.) Two timecode systems are used in consumer video: SMPTE VITC (a Vertical Interval Time Code using a standard developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and Sony RC. The Easy Editor is compatible with both. SMPTE VITC is a widely used commercial standard. If you edit tapes created by someone else, you may find they already contain timecode. The Easy Editor detects and uses most professionally recorded timecodes. Step 10.2: Using Timecode with the Easy Editor. When the Easy Editor sees video with timecode, it automatically uses it. An on-screen indicator appears next to the tape counter number when VITC time- code is present. There is no indicator for RC time-code (make sure the timecode feature of your camcorder is turned on). You don't need to take any special steps - your productions are automatically timecode accurate if timecode is present. NOTE: If the SMPTE VITC information on the tape is erratic, the Easy Editor may not be able to read it consistently. This can happen if a tape is damaged or badly copied. The on-screen VITC indicator may flash often (an occasional flash is normal); the on-screen thumbs may flip unexpectedly; incorrect scenes may be recorded during the edit process; and productions may contain incorrect segments. The on-screen counter may or may not behave normally. It is difficult or impossible to edit a tape with bad SMPTE VITC. You can tell the Easy Editor to ignore the VITC information. Press and hold the ON-SCREEN-DISPLAY buttons as you tap the Thumbs-Down button, then release both buttons. VITC detection remains off until you press those buttons again, or until you turn the Easy Editor off then on again. Special Note for Panasonic-Made Camcorders with SMPTE VITC Timecode Only: When you stop a tape, the on-screen timecode normally holds the timecode of the last video that was playing. Certain Panasonic timecode camcorders instead display the timecode of the last thing you recorded, which will likely be different from that of the tape you were editing. This is likely to result in incorrect productions. You can remedy the situation by zeroing the camcorder's timecode memory before you use the camcorder with the Easy Editor. To do this, remove the battery from the camcorder (or unplug the power adaptor) for 15 seconds or more. Any time you use the camcorder to record, the number loses its zero value, so before you edit with the Easy Editor, you should again remove the camcorder battery for 15 seconds. Step 10.3: Automatic Editing Without Edit Control, Using Timecoded Originals. The Easy Editor uses timecode for Automatic Editing, even if your camcorder is not equipped with edit control. Simply mark the segments as usual and the Easy Editor remembers the timecodes of each segment. During the EDIT or PREVIEW operations. the Easy Editor cannot control the camcorder. You can simply let the tape play and the Easy Editor waits for each scene. You can speed things up, if you wish, by manually positioning the tape 15 seconds or so before the start of a scene. Let the tape play and the Easy Editor starts the recorder at the right frame. Remember that the VCR must be in record-pause when a segment arrives. VCR's automatically stop if left in pause for too long. If it does, you can re- start the VCR so it is ready for the next segment, using the method in Step 9.1. However, it's better to manually assist, as explained above so the VCR doesn't wait that long. Step 10.4: Sequential Timecode. For best results, timecode should be in sequence - the timecode numbers should increase as the tape plays and never decrease. If you record your original tapes in the normal order, that happens naturally-each new recording is made at a later point in the tape. But if you re-record the start of the tape after you recorded later portions, you could have later timecode occurring earlier in the tape. RC code lets you replace the timecode without disrupting the video. We recommend you do this before editing if you suspect you have timecode that is not in sequence. SMPTE VITC code cannot be replaced. If you have non-sequential SMPTE VITC and you wish to do Automatic editing, treat the two parts of the tape as if they were separate tapes (Step 9.5 on FaxbackDoc. # 34342). Pretend one timecoded portion is Tape 1, the second portion is Tape 2, etc. Step 10.5: Making Timecoded Copies of a Tape. The Easy Editor can make a timecoded copy of an original tape. You can use the copy as your new original to get accurate productions even if your cam- corder does not have the timecode feature. Note that productions you make from the timecoded copy are "third- generation" (copies of a copy) as opposed to normal Easy Editor productions which are second-generation (copies of the original). Also note that if your camcorder and VCR use different tape formats, the timecoded copy will not play in your camcorder. You need to record the copy using a camcorder or VCR with the same format as the camcorder. Or, when you use the new original, you need to change the camcorder for a VCR capable of playing it. To make a timecoded dub, turn the Easy Editor unit off, then back on. Put the original in the camcorder and a blank tape in the VCR. Rewind both tapes. Press ON-SCREEN-DISPLAY and the Thumbs-Up button at the same time. Start the VCR recording and press play on the camcorder. Advanced hint: When you turn the unit off and on again, the timecode is written starting with frame zero. The Easy Editor remembers the last time- code it read or wrote, so you can stop and restart the recording and it begins with the last code it wrote. You can add more timecoded video to an existing tape by playing the last part of the tape in the camcorder, then moving the tape to the VCR and continuing the recording. It will continue, starting with the timecode of the last frame played. Step 10.6: Making a Window Dub. A "window dub" is a copy of a tape with the exact frame numbers recorded in a rectangle (a window) superimposed on the video. It's commonly used so someone else can write down which parts are of interest. To make a window dub, you need a camcorder with edit control or an original tape with time- code. Use the Setup Menu to turn on the on-screen tape counter (in Step 8.3, set item 5 to 2). If the tape does not have timecode, re-zero the tape (Step 9.5). Play the original tape from the beginning and make the VCR record. The recording shows the on-screen counter and the thumb, along with your video. You can use this dub as a reference copy to identify scenes. (BR/EB 8/2/96)