Some (very) Basic DV Tape Questions ! at DVinfo.net

Lee Wilson · October 28th, 2006, 06:07 AM

Hi, I have a question or two I am sure someone with the knowledge may be able to answer:

What is the recommended 'safe' amount of times to reuse a DV tape (I am recording HDV) - just the once or a few times or can you use a tape indefinately until it falls apart !

Should you take the DV cassettes out of the camera when it is not in use ?

Beofre you take the DV cassette out of the camera to store should you rewind them to the top ?

Thanks in advance to anyone who has the answers.

Lee

Chris Harris · October 28th, 2006, 02:00 PM

I believe the consensus on here is that it depends on the importance of the footage. If you want to decrease the chance of dropouts, it's best to use a new tape. For my purposes most of the time, it's not that important, and if I get a dropout I can go back and re-shoot, so I find myself reusing tapes quite a bit. I use both HDV and DV often (although not on the same tape) as well.

There was a thread here on taking tapes out of the camera when not in use, and I think it was agreed that it wasn't necessary unless you weren't going to be using it for months.

Also, I usually rewind the tape after I'm done with it, for organizational purposes. It makes it easy to re-capture for archiving, or easy to re-record if you choose to do so.

Lee Wilson · October 28th, 2006, 02:39 PM

Cheers for the info Chris.

:)

October 28th, 2006, 06:07 AM	#1
Lee Wilson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 376	Some (very) Basic DV Tape Questions ! Hi, I have a question or two I am sure someone with the knowledge may be able to answer: What is the recommended 'safe' amount of times to reuse a DV tape (I am recording HDV) - just the once or a few times or can you use a tape indefinately until it falls apart ! Should you take the DV cassettes out of the camera when it is not in use ? Beofre you take the DV cassette out of the camera to store should you rewind them to the top ? Thanks in advance to anyone who has the answers. Lee

October 28th, 2006, 02:00 PM	#2
Chris Harris Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 487	I believe the consensus on here is that it depends on the importance of the footage. If you want to decrease the chance of dropouts, it's best to use a new tape. For my purposes most of the time, it's not that important, and if I get a dropout I can go back and re-shoot, so I find myself reusing tapes quite a bit. I use both HDV and DV often (although not on the same tape) as well. There was a thread here on taking tapes out of the camera when not in use, and I think it was agreed that it wasn't necessary unless you weren't going to be using it for months. Also, I usually rewind the tape after I'm done with it, for organizational purposes. It makes it easy to re-capture for archiving, or easy to re-record if you choose to do so.

October 28th, 2006, 02:39 PM	#3
Lee Wilson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 376	Cheers for the info Chris. :)