I bought the xha1 so i could shoot hdv if I needed. but most of my day job projects will be in dv, and my coworker uses a simple pana 250. i want to be able to hand her tape when I've involved. can the 250 read the mini hdv tape? I'm guessing if I shoot in HDV, no. but if i shoot in DV, will she be able to capture using the 250. Is this correct?

If i did shoot in hdv, I would have to downconvert and capture for her project i'm guessing.

Which makes me wonder if I should just use the same tape as her (pana dvm60), and not compromise the heads by mixing brands, or go with a higher quality hdv tape. I don't want drop outs or to compromise my investment. thanks for any thoughts.

dot.

If what you want to do is be able to use your A1 as a playback deck to capture footage shot with her Panny 250, then yes, it would probably be wise to use the same brand of tape, just to play it safe.
You should not have any problem reading each others DV footage, however her GS250 will not read your HDV tapes.

I bought the xha1 so i could shoot hdv if I needed. but most of my day job projects will be in dv, and my coworker uses a simple pana 250. i want to be able to hand her tape when I've involved. can the 250 read the mini hdv tape? I'm guessing if I shoot in HDV, no. but if i shoot in DV, will she be able to capture using the 250. Is this correct?

If i did shoot in hdv, I would have to downconvert and capture for her project i'm guessing.

Which makes me wonder if I should just use the same tape as her (pana dvm60), and not compromise the heads by mixing brands, or go with a higher quality hdv tape. I don't want drop outs or to compromise my investment. thanks for any thoughts.

dot.

Higher-quality tapes will definitely reduce the risk of dropouts, which have a more severe effect when you are shooting HDV; then again if all your paying work is in DV, you might not want to pay $10 extra per tape.