I have many timecode breaks throughout my 200 or so dv cassettes and have after a large battle with Avid stopping capture everytime it encountered a timecode break I've decided to capture with another software and afterwards import it into Avid for editting. I've tried capturing with Edius but since it uses the Canopus codec, Avid doesn't like the AVI files that it creates. And I've also used Nero to capture to AVI (dv) files but for some reason when I import it back into Avid, the import created horizontal lines through the video in the parts where the camera was panning quickly to the left or right. I played the AVI files that Nero created and those lines aren't seen. Only after the importing into Avid. Is there a way to import them into Avid without getting those annoying lines?

Otherwise what other software do you recommend to capture and in what format is best? AVI?

What version of the editor are you using.

DV has never failed me on Avid. HDV yes.

I think the best solution is to clone it to another DV tape. no quality is lost and the record deck creates continuous TC for capture into Avid. it's annoying but well worth it as you'll have something you can later easily recapture from, and still have the originals as another set.

sorry for ending with a preposition,    sasha

Hey Gearge I'm using version 5.0.3. Yes, I get those horizontal lines on the parts where the camera pans quickly. But I just found out if I use the 'Link to AMA files' option, I don't need to import my clips and therefore I don't get those lines on the video. Is editing with the AMA files a good way to go about editing lots of AVI files? I know that one restriction though is that you can't export to quicktime reference if you edit this way, right?

Thanks Sasha, I've tried to record to another dv tape but still Avid sees breaks in the video even though it's a fresh timecode. I've spent too much time trying to battle with that so I'm moving onto now trying to find a software that captures a nice AVI file that Avid is happy to import.

weekender:

But I just found out if I use the 'Link to AMA files' option, I don't need to import my clips and therefore I don't get those lines on the video. Is editing with the AMA files a good way to go about editing lots of AVI files?

Rather than AVI files, I'd suggest finding something that will create Quicktime files, which will definitely link using AMA.  Media Composer is based on Quicktime, which is why it works better than AVI in this case.

weekender:

I know that one restriction though is that you can't export to quicktime reference if you edit this way, right?

That's right, but there's an easy workaround.  You can either transcode all your footage prior to editing, or you can edit a sequence with the AMA-linked footage and then transcode the sequence.  Whichever you choose, you'll be able to do a Quicktime reference export.

[edited to add] One other thing: I assume the timecode of the files you're creating doesn't match the timecode on the original DV tapes.  If that's the case, you might try capturing them with the TC button on the Capture Tool turned off.  

My thought is that either method results in clips with non-matching timecode, but capturing straight in should be much faster than capturing in some other program and then importing or AMA-linking.

Yes I tried turning the TC off in the capture tool and soooo many other things but still avid doesn't like when it sees timecode breaks.

When you say quicktime file is an mp4 a good format to capture in for importing into avid?

weekender:

When you say quicktime file is an mp4 a good format to capture in for importing into avid?

It depends on what codec you use, but yes.

So it looks like I should use capture my footage in quicktime or mpeg4. Can anyone recommend a software that captures in good quality mp4 or quicktime?

You should try ScenalyzerLive if you have DV capture problems. If that can't capture from your tapes I doubt anything will. One problem is that it's quite old software so may or may not work on the latest operating systems but it is worth a try. It will only capture DV.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/ScenalyzerLive

If you have Sorenson Squeeze, you can try using its Capture thru firewire input feature. I know it creates an AVI file format that can be imported or AMA/transcoded to reduce file size. No idea if it would handle your problematic TC breaks. Best to capture to a large drive, i.e.,not on your C: drive.