Stripping Mini DV tapes, Is it recommended?

Bruce Foreman · September 15th, 2007, 10:13 PM

I'm still working in standard def miniDV and have an older miniDV Sony that I use to capture what I've shot in the 3 chip Panasonic, keeping the transport and head wear down on the main camera.

I do use the old Sony to "stripe" new tapes with time code because it does prevent time code breaks, allowing me to put a few seconds of black tape between segments I may want to separate for some reason or other.

With the first version of Pinnacle Studio I had the manual did suggest "pre-striping" tapes with timecode because one of the methods of capture used a lower quality compressed video for editing to save disk space, then when you were ready to write it back out to tape (before we had DVD burners) or to a computer file you had to put the original tape back in and let it recapture in higher quality.

Time code breaks screwed up that whole process.

Probably not needed anymore but I do go ahead and "stripe" new tapes.

Chris Hocking · September 16th, 2007, 04:34 AM

Jeff, I wondered this very same question a while back. You can see the post here. It's worth a read, as there was some very good advice thrown around...

The conclusion - DON'T STRIPE YOUR TAPES! It's a complete waste of time, and does more damage than good. In fact, it does no good what-so-ever. The only real reason you would do this is if you're doing a INSERT edit on say a Beta SP deck. For DV, it's completely useless as the tape goes through an eraser head first, and all the time code is re-written anyway (as Ronny said).

Apple also suggested you should "black your tape", but this is bad advice. Best to ignore it! Sorry Bruce, but striping a DV tape does nothing.

The way to avoid nasty timecode problems? WATCH THE TIMECODE! If it goes back to 00:00:00:00, obviously something is wrong. Fix the problem! END SEARCH is your friend (as Don and others have noted).

I hope this is of some help Jeff!

Best Regards, Chris!

Garrett Gibbons · June 6th, 2008, 12:08 AM

Jeff,

IMO, striping (and the advice in that Premier book) is something designed for things like BetaSP/DigiBeta tapes, where the tape stock is delivered without a consistent timecode (one tape might start at 03:45:08;04, for example, and another at 06:00-something). DV tapes are pre-blacked.

Garrett

Allen Williams · June 6th, 2008, 08:07 AM

Back in the day of machine to machine editing, most editors used what we call Insert Editing. With Insert Editing, you could make changes in the middle of a tape if you didn't like the first edit. Changes could be made separately to each of two audio tracks or the video track without disturbing the other tracks. This was commonly used to lay down audio to a completed tape or to change a video scene or audio you were not satisfied with. The change was precise because original time code was layed down when stripping the tape.

During Insert Editing, the original time code is not disturbed. If the tape is not stripped, content is layed down by Assemble Editing. This completely erases any previous content, time code included, while recording new content.

Whenever you record onto a video tape, you are laying down content by the Assemble Edit method. The camera or recorder heads are erasing any previous content while new content is recorded. Non linear editing is done in the computer environment and the completed project is then layed down to tape using the Assemble Edit method.

The only reason you would need to stripe your tape is if you intend to make changes on the tape after the material is layed down. Then you would need editing decks capable of Insert Editing.
You would need two decks that are locked into each other through an Editing Controller.
Allen W

Garrett Gibbons · June 6th, 2008, 09:33 AM

That's a very concise explanation! Thanks.

Joseph Tran · June 7th, 2008, 01:15 PM

In the world of film, we always "check the gate" after finishing shots for any particular scene. This where we check the film gate to make sure the film is still properly aligned inside the camera. The assistant cameraman may also shine a flashlight in there to burn one frame of film and mark it.

In the world of video, we also "check the gate" for 1. tradition's sake, and 2. to make sure the tape is running properly (i.e. timecode is correct, tape is still aligned, etc.). After the last take, we may also record a couple seconds with the cap on to double check -- and, if we ever go back and review the footage, we've got a couple seconds of room to stop the tape and roll again without having to use the end search feature.

June 6th, 2008, 08:07 AM	#19
Allen Williams Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Freeport, NY Posts: 90	Back in the day of machine to machine editing, most editors used what we call Insert Editing. With Insert Editing, you could make changes in the middle of a tape if you didn't like the first edit. Changes could be made separately to each of two audio tracks or the video track without disturbing the other tracks. This was commonly used to lay down audio to a completed tape or to change a video scene or audio you were not satisfied with. The change was precise because original time code was layed down when stripping the tape. During Insert Editing, the original time code is not disturbed. If the tape is not stripped, content is layed down by Assemble Editing. This completely erases any previous content, time code included, while recording new content. Whenever you record onto a video tape, you are laying down content by the Assemble Edit method. The camera or recorder heads are erasing any previous content while new content is recorded. Non linear editing is done in the computer environment and the completed project is then layed down to tape using the Assemble Edit method. The only reason you would need to stripe your tape is if you intend to make changes on the tape after the material is layed down. Then you would need editing decks capable of Insert Editing. You would need two decks that are locked into each other through an Editing Controller. Allen W Last edited by Allen Williams; June 6th, 2008 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Spelling error

June 7th, 2008, 01:15 PM	#21
Joseph Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 177	No striping for us... In the world of film, we always "check the gate" after finishing shots for any particular scene. This where we check the film gate to make sure the film is still properly aligned inside the camera. The assistant cameraman may also shine a flashlight in there to burn one frame of film and mark it. In the world of video, we also "check the gate" for 1. tradition's sake, and 2. to make sure the tape is running properly (i.e. timecode is correct, tape is still aligned, etc.). After the last take, we may also record a couple seconds with the cap on to double check -- and, if we ever go back and review the footage, we've got a couple seconds of room to stop the tape and roll again without having to use the end search feature.

September 15th, 2007, 10:13 PM	#16
Bruce Foreman Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 1,518	I'm still working in standard def miniDV and have an older miniDV Sony that I use to capture what I've shot in the 3 chip Panasonic, keeping the transport and head wear down on the main camera. I do use the old Sony to "stripe" new tapes with time code because it does prevent time code breaks, allowing me to put a few seconds of black tape between segments I may want to separate for some reason or other. With the first version of Pinnacle Studio I had the manual did suggest "pre-striping" tapes with timecode because one of the methods of capture used a lower quality compressed video for editing to save disk space, then when you were ready to write it back out to tape (before we had DVD burners) or to a computer file you had to put the original tape back in and let it recapture in higher quality. Time code breaks screwed up that whole process. Probably not needed anymore but I do go ahead and "stripe" new tapes.

September 16th, 2007, 04:34 AM	#17
Chris Hocking Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 595	Jeff, I wondered this very same question a while back. You can see the post here. It's worth a read, as there was some very good advice thrown around... The conclusion - DON'T STRIPE YOUR TAPES! It's a complete waste of time, and does more damage than good. In fact, it does no good what-so-ever. The only real reason you would do this is if you're doing a INSERT edit on say a Beta SP deck. For DV, it's completely useless as the tape goes through an eraser head first, and all the time code is re-written anyway (as Ronny said). Apple also suggested you should "black your tape", but this is bad advice. Best to ignore it! Sorry Bruce, but striping a DV tape does nothing. The way to avoid nasty timecode problems? WATCH THE TIMECODE! If it goes back to 00:00:00:00, obviously something is wrong. Fix the problem! END SEARCH is your friend (as Don and others have noted). I hope this is of some help Jeff! Best Regards, Chris!

June 6th, 2008, 12:08 AM	#18
Garrett Gibbons New Boot Join Date: May 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 24	Jeff, IMO, striping (and the advice in that Premier book) is something designed for things like BetaSP/DigiBeta tapes, where the tape stock is delivered without a consistent timecode (one tape might start at 03:45:08;04, for example, and another at 06:00-something). DV tapes are pre-blacked. Garrett

June 6th, 2008, 09:33 AM	#20
Garrett Gibbons New Boot Join Date: May 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 24	That's a very concise explanation! Thanks.