Intensity Shuttle from SONY Betacam SP

I have a Sony PVW 2600 Betacam SP player and I bought the Intensity Shuttle Shuttle to convert tapes to digital format. What settings do I need to use? I am using the component outputs RGB through the Shuttle and want to capture into the Media Express software or Adobe Premiere Pro.

[Joshua Helling]

You will want to use the Component YUV connections on the device (Red, Blue and Green connectors).

In the blackmagic control panel set the input to component.

In the Media Express application set the format type to NTSC.

Keep in mind that the audio input on the Intensity is unbalanced and the audio output on the deck is balanced so you will have to use a Balanced to Unbalanced converter for this. Also make sure the deck is set to output SMPTE video and not Betacam since the intensity doesn't have the "use betacam levels" option.

Thanks Joshua. For the video part, I put BNC to RCA connectors on the back of the SONY machine and then used a NICE set of component cables to go into the Intensity Shuttle. For the audio, I used a XLR to RCA changer and then used an RCA (red & white) cables to connect to the audio of the Intensity shuttle. Would this not change it from unbalanced to balanced? The audio sounded fine in playback but I don't know how it will record. Where do I find this converter. Does the XLR interface and RCA cable not work? Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

Dayne Pruitt

For what it's worth, it actually takes a person who has used the betacam machines to give a quick tutorial over how to get the best results, it's actually a little more complicated than simply wiring the machine correctly and putting the tape in.

If you are located in Southern California, San Fernando Valley area, I am available for quick tutorials. Probably one hour is ideal and I'll teach you what took me a lot longer to learn.

[Joshua Helling]

Alex is right. The decks themselves are quite a bit more complicated. And you may at times need to send Y into the deck into the reference loop and loop the reference to the y in on the deck if you run into any locking issues. Plus there are heaps of settings.

And by using the cables you described that will convert the cables to connect but it doesn't change the signalling from unbalanced to balanced. So your audio might be low going into the deck unless you use a converter.

Alex,
Thanks for the offer but I am on the other side of the US in South Carolina. I think my video is finally coming through but I would love to learn more about this SONY player but I would not be able to travel at this time.

Joshua,
I found a "sound person" in my local area and I think he knows what the problem is and is fixing me an adapter to work. I plan to test this out in the next couple of days. The vidoe is coming through clear but it seems to have an occasional "skip" in it. Do you have any idea what might be causing that?

Hello Dpruitt,
if you have the budget, I suggest you to upgrade from the Intensity Shuttle to a Decklink Studio 2 or Ultrastudio Pro. They both have YUV and Balanced Audio I/O as well as RS422 that allows you remote the VTR and to capture the Timecode, that may be very important.
About the "skip", I'm not sure to understand what you mean; the Intensity Shuttle does not have a TBC, have you tried to add one between the VTR and the Shuttle?
Best Regards,

Paolo
www.ivsEdits.com