Sony DSR 20 will not display

[Peter Copestake]

Suddenly my DSR 20 DVCAM deck does not respond to pressing 'Display' button on the remote so I cannot see timecode or other date on my TV monitor although the remote works everything else OK and the video shows on the TV too.
Any ideas, anyone. Do the buttons on remotes go down? Can they be cleaned?
'Display' on the remote for a DSR 11 doesn't work the 20 either though I think this is one of the many functions which are common to both decks.

[Michael Slowe]

I too have a DSR 20 and sometimes have problems with settings when something has been changed.

Have you tried doing it manually on the deck itself with the buttons hidden under the front 'flap'? There is one named 'Remote' and of course many others. I once took the deck all the way out to Top-Teks in Harefield with a similar problem and it was all down to a wrong button having been pushed.

Great deck, almost indestructable and mine has done 12 years constant service.

[Peter Copestake]

Thanks, Michael, but there is no 'display' button on the deck itself. The 'remote/local' switch has to be set to 'local' for the remote to work and it is, and other functions can be worked by the remote, it's just display that can't, and of course as I can't see the display I can't tell if any menu setting has mysteriously got altered!

I enjoyed your talk at Burnley FF. Thanks for making the journey and chatting to me in the interval. We mentioned wind muffs, softies etc and I had hoped you might comment on the lack of unwanted wind noise on the Panopticons film. The lapel mike had to be well protected in some locations with the speaker's back to the breeze. I see Rycote are now selling a comparatively modest wind cage for small shotguns but I think I'll manage without.

Peter.

[Peter Copestake]

Mea culpa! - of course! - what do they say about a bad workman blaming his tools?
I'd plugged the TV into 'output' instead of 'monitor'. All's well.

[Michael Slowe]

Peter, glad you solved it.
On the matter of wind noise I have to say that this is one of our worst problems. The Rycote Softee (or any other for that matter) simply does not help all that much and the softest breeze can destroy a sound track. I've come to the conclusion that the only solution is the hard shell ones you see being used by the broadcast people. I had one once, an old hire item that I bought cheap from Samuelsons but got rid of it with an old mic years ago. How the BBC manage on mountains when you see the wind raging beats me as you never (well hardly ever) hear any rumble. I also have the little furry jobs for the tiny clip on mics but apart from being the very devil to put on they too are not all that effective.

Can 'Tom the Tech' comment on this problem?

[tom hardwick]

My only comment is that my Rycote Softie is A-A-Mazingly effective, as so it should be at the price. It does need to be combed as they describe, and in very high winds (where I've been struggling to stay upright to film) I've had to switch the tiny 'bass-cut' switch to on in the Sennheiser K6 module. Better to lose some bass up front than to try and filter it out in post I say.