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Last updated on Dec 14, 2023

Learn how to protect from accidentally breaking the timecode by striping the tape.

You can ensure continuous timecode by recording timecode onto the tape before you use it. This process is called striping the tape. Striping is not necessary if you follow recommended shooting practices, but it can protect you from accidentally breaking timecode by miscuing a tape in your camera.

  1. Place an unused tape in the camera. It should have no timecode.
  2. If you’re using a camera for striping, attach the lens cap and disable audio recording.
  3. Ensure that all camera settings (particularly the audio sample rate) are the same as the settings you use when you shoot. Use these same settings whenever shooting on that tape.
  4. Begin recording. Let the camera or deck run until the entire tape has been recorded.
  5. Before you record video on a striped tape, play about 30 seconds of it from the beginning. Verify that the camcorder is reading the timecode you striped before you start shooting. The 30-second empty lead on the tape also helps in batch capturing.

Result

You have striped a tape with timecode and there is a unique identifier for each frame of video, making it easy to find specific footage on a tape and also reduce the loss of data.

Note:

Check your camera’s settings when changing tapes, especially when reinserting a tape you had begun shooting previously. Though you may want to use different settings for different tapes, it’s best to use the same settings from the beginning to the end of each tape. These should match the settings used when first striping that tape.

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