Also in the same thread after a suggestion that pre-striping tapes was the fix:

ASE user: Chris Hocking:

Firstly, striping tapes in prosumer cameras is a very bad idea. No only does it do nothing (as when you're recording the tape goes through the erase head first, eliminating any data - so you're not actually recorded a straight time-code track), but also recording onto the same tape twice, especially a very fragile tape like Mini-DV, is never a recommended. 

Secondly, we have used HDV for many projects over the years. At the moment we're working on a doco that was shot entirely on prosumer HDV cameras (Z1P, A1P, etc.). So far, with over 30 tapes captured, we haven't had any issues. I don't mean to brag, or suggest you're doing anything particularly wrong - it's just that there's a lot of bad press about HDV, and I just want to point out, for low budget projects were HD and recording to tape is required, it's a great option. 

In regards to tapes - we always use Sony DVM60PRO tapes. When we use Sony cameras, we use the recommended Sony tapes. When we use Panasonic cameras, we use the recommended Panasonic tapes. Why? Because as others have said, each manufacturers use different lubricants in their tapes. Although generally speaking this doesn't really matter (just look at Swinburne University - students put in whatever tape is cheapest, and their Z1Ps have been going strong for five years now!) - it's better to be safe than sorry. When we first jumped on the HDV bandwagon many years ago now, we tested all of the Sony tapes - from the cheapest to the most expensive. In the end we ended up deciding that the DVM60PRO tapes were the best value for money - they're in the middle range in terms of price.

In regards to capturing. I never recommend using "Capture Now" in Final Cut Pro unless you're using an uncontrollable device (such as an old school VHS). This creates all kinds of issues when your hard drive dies and you need to batch capture to get all the media back. Do it properly and put in a in and out timecode for each tape. We generally capture to ProRes as opposed to HDV - back it really depends on your system and workflow. Both methods work fine and each have their issues.

What we generally do is record one minute of bars and tone and the head of the tape, and then once we've finished recording, if there's space left, we record more bars and tone until the tape is finished. This helps as well, as you've now got ample pre/post roll to play with. We write on the tape what the last timecode will be. This means when we jump into the edit suite, we can quickly and easily write the in and out timecodes, and start capturing straight away. We capture the whole tape, as we want to limit how much running back and forth we do to the tape. As I said, these tapes are cheap and fragile. You need to be nice to them! But just like any camera master - you only really want to play it back once. 

Now, in terms of your specific problem Dylan, the fact that you have problems capturing in HDV mode, but can easily capture the down-converted footage makes me think that the tape is fine, and it's actually a problem with your software (in this case, Final Cut Pro). When you down-convert, the camera looks as the exact same time-code track, so if you've got a timecode break or jump, this will cause you grief in both HDV capture and DV capture. Also, the fact that you can capture now fine means that it's either some setting you've got wrong, or something that's simply confusing Final Cut Pro. 

It's probably a bit late now to offer these suggestions, but for future reference... 

1. What version of Final Cut Pro are you running? Is it the latest, with all the current updates? There have been some bugs in terms of HDV capturing in previous versions that have long since been ironed out.
2. What version of Quicktime are you running?
3. What version of Mac OS are you running? 
4. Have you tried trashing your Final Cut Pro preferences file? This fixes most problems.
5. Have you tried creating a NEW project file to capture into? Some times the project file itself can be the cause of all the chaos. 
6. Have you tried capturing using the same camera as you recorded to? Remember Sony cameras play differently to other brands, and vis versa. 
7. If you're using a camera to capture, have you tried capturing using a deck? If you're using Sony cameras, I recommend using Sony decks, etc. 
8. Does the tape play fine on the camera? Are there timecode discrepancies? If it plays fine - then it should capture fine.

Finally, it's important to delineate the difference between a "dropout" and a "timecode break". A dropout is when something goes wrong and all the data isn't recorded to tape properly. This can be due to many reasons, such as moisture in the camera, a bad section of the tape, the camera is thrown around too hard, etc. Most of the time a dropout will just affect the picture and not the timecode track. But sometimes, it does hurt the timecode track as well, and for one a frame or more, there might either be no timecode at all, or corrupted timecode. This is a pain in the butt, but as long as you haven't done anything silly (like deliberately using the camera in a place it shouldn't normally go), it's just something you just have to deal with. A timecode break on the other hand is generally a "user error". Normally, this is due to the camera operator turning off the camera, and then when they turn it back on, they don't check that the timecode is correct and start rolling so that the timecode resets (i.e. back to 00:00:00:00). For every timecode break, it means you need to do double the work when it comes to capturing. If you've got lots of timecode breaks - it's a real pain!

I've posted it here because although it's FCP related, the points that Chris covers are pretty general, and it's a good clear description of a stable workflow.

I particularly liked point 4, the reference to deleting the preferences file(s)!  The more things change, the more they stay the same!

JohnnyReboot:

Ssnygg:

When the error message popped up, did it lose any of the media?  A couple seconds?  A couple frames?

 

No, not that I could see.  I was able to capture everything...and audio/video was in sync.

JR

Quick update:  The 24p project's audio was actually out of sync by about 3 frames.  30p and 60p project's audio/video were in sync when captured from my GY-HD200.

Was it immediately out of synch by a consistently predictable three frames or did it continue to wander and get worse over time on longer clips?

Ssnygg:

Was it immediately out of synch by a consistently predictable three frames or did it continue to wander and get worse over time on longer clips?

As I recall it was consistent, around 3 frames.  Don't quote me on that.

I am really am starting to like the JVC 200, but do you think I should go for something else as there are still issues with Avid and these cams? Other option was a Sony z7

Stop using your camera as a feeder deck to your system and that would solve that problem. Have a seperate deck to feed your footage or get the JVC 700 for file based editing.

jthom71 - You do realise that this problem is associated with the BR-HD50 deck too right? The footage just originated from the 100 and 200 series camera, on my side I then attempted capture using the deck and/or the Firestore drive - both with the same results so the bottom line is stopping use of the camera as a feeder deck does NOT solve the problem.

And great sell point on the 700 - how exactly does that help those with the 100 and 200 (or footage from those cameras)?