Recording a band across tv screen

[Anonymous]

I am trying to record a segment of a beauty pageant from a DVD for a client. My DV camera is recording a narrow band across the tv screen I am recording from. After setting my shutter speed to 1/60 the band is narrower but does not go away completely. What else can I do?

[TomScratch]

Hi,
If the DVD is not copy protected, why not cable out directly from the DVD player to your cam?
If recording off of a TV screen, try one-thirtieth of a second. This has worked for me for several TV screens/monitors over the years. (All of them over 3 years old.) In Sony’s old Digital 8 cams, Slow Shutter #1 corresponds to one thirtieth of a second.
If the above does not work, try another TV or monitor. Also, shooting the DVD off of a computer monitor might work.
REGARDS … TOM 8)

[DaveC]

Where is this band located. If it is at the bottom of the TV screen, it might be normal? If this footage ever resided on a VHS VCR before it was recorded to the DVD, then it is normal. All VHS recorders produce a band of noise across the bottom of their pictures. Usually the overscan on the TV positions that band of noise below the area of the TV screen that is visible to the viewer.

Dave

[Anonymous]

The image you see on the television screen is refreshed – or “re-drawn” – from the top to the bottom with alternating horizontal passes of the cathode ray. The “scrolling bar” you see whenever you point your video camera at a tevelvision screen or CRT monitor is a result of the difference in scan/refresh rate from the monitor and your camera’s shutter speed…they have two slightly different rates. You can fix/minimize this by adjusting the shutter speed on you camera – some models have sepcific settings for television and computer monitor screens.

Plus, it goes without saying these days, you oughtta have permission to record someone else’s work, no matter how or why you’re trying to do it.

[Anonymous]

Follow-up:

You could contact the company/person who created the beauty contest program in the first place and ask for the footage in a format you work with…

[TomScratch]

Re permission, good point HomeVideoPro. As well as, you can’t get much more low tech than shooting off of a TV screen. (Well maybe shooting off of a movie screen with a handheld. Once did this on a dare for an educational fair use piece for TV cable access. The show’s moderator went on and on (and on and on) during a live broadcast about how I snuck into the theater with a cam concealed under my long raincoat etc. etc., making fun at my expense. The footage shot was obviously low-fi and it underscored the circus nature of the project.) These days, good quality cams are within means of the masses, the footage can be at a much higher quality level, and your next summer vacation stop could be the jailhouse. If you go to the source and ask permission you might be surprised. Several years ago, I was in Hong Kong and found myself enthralled by a very creative promo piece being run over and over for the Hotel chain where I was staying. It was well shot, had loads of visual humor, and entertained me immensely. I had to have it for my collection, so I spent considerable time setting up the cam and playing around with settings to get the best quality. After I had gone to that trouble and had a complete but nevertheless crusty off-screen dub, it occurred to me to go to the Hotel Management and ask for a good copy. They gladly gave me an extra that the commercial’s producer had provided to them, fancy case and all. Made my day.
REGARDS … TOM 8)

[Anonymous]

Or, if you’re really a genius, you could tell your customer that it was impossible to get the rights to the piece, and that the recording secondhand just wasn’t going to work. Then suggest that you fake it by hiring some hottie actresses and making your own “beauty pageant”.
That way you get to meet hot chicks too.

Just kidding… don’t do that.

[phillips719]

Have you turned off the image stabilization? I played with this and got beautifull (well as good as they can be) shots from my tv screen with all the other defaults on the cam on standard settings. Also a bit better if you set the tripod and cam back a little and zoom a bit as to get rid of the sides of the TV set. Although, I can capture from DVD by hooking my analog connections (rca) from the player to the cam, and then a firewire from the cam to the computer, then capture as normal which gives superior quality. An analog capture card would take the camcorder out of this however.

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