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May 1st, 2003, 02:30 PM | #1 |
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Mini Dv Tapes
I've heard conflicting opinions in the past on how long mini-dv tapes last. Some have said they last a lifetime and can be viewed 100 times before any loss in picture quality and others say that they will last about 10 years and start to lose quality after 4-5 playbacks. I could copy them all but it would be quite expensive. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you, Tony |
May 1st, 2003, 02:43 PM | #2 |
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May 1st, 2003, 03:02 PM | #3 |
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I find that they lose quality (drop-outs) after playing them back roughly after 5 times.
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May 1st, 2003, 03:05 PM | #4 |
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You guys are crazy or something...just kidding, but seriously, i've recorded over tapes atleast 6 times, and played them back countless times, and just in my little $400 Panasonic, and never experienced ANY dropout...
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May 1st, 2003, 03:29 PM | #5 |
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Then you are lucky, Alex.
We're talking about playing back the same footage, and not re-using a tape. I don't know how many times you can re-use a tape. I've read different things---and I store all my old tapes because I want to preserve the footage---therefore I don't re-use tape. |
May 3rd, 2003, 10:55 AM | #6 |
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Wait a minute, you're telling us that after playing back a tape 5 times or so it begins to lose quality? That's insane. If that's true then MiniDV has got to be the crappiest digital recording medium ever invented. That can't be right.
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May 3rd, 2003, 04:19 PM | #7 |
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It is the nature of magnetic tape to lose some signal strength over time. Playback accelerates this signal loss. With digital signals, the observed effect will be a gradual increase in data read errors. The visual effect is nil, untill the read errors exceed the built-in error correction capability of the DV format.
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May 3rd, 2003, 05:01 PM | #8 |
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I haven't had any problems and I've played back the same tape at least ten times in a row when making copies of special event videos and special interest videos and I haven't had a problem.
In fact, I have one D8 tape that I've played back at least 50 times and I haven't had one dropout on it and I don't believe that's the exception. Maybe someone who works at a news station and edits with dv tapes can chime in on this one because news stations put a lot of wear and tear on their tapes by scrubbing them all the time and repeatedly playing them back while editing. They should have a pretty good idea if a tape wears out after a few playbacks. Ben Lynn |
May 3rd, 2003, 10:38 PM | #9 | |
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DVCAM Tapes
I do not post this to promote the use of Sony's DVCAM tape or Tape Resources (which is a good vendor). But I received a DVCAM promotional card from Tape Resources today which advocates the use of Sony's DVCAM tapes for both DVCAM and miniDV cameras. I transcribe it below because I think it shines some light on the key reliability and durability factors surrounding tape from a manufacturer's (Sony's) perspective. Since tape is a very frequent topic here, and one which we all have in common, I think it will be of broad interest. I transcribe it here strictly for informational purposes and do not necessarily advocate the use of DVCAM tape for miniDV work. (I actually think the extra expense is unnecessary.) The information on the card compares DVCAM tape to standard DV tape.
Quote:
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May 4th, 2003, 09:33 AM | #10 |
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"DV media begins to show picture disturbances after 150 passes"
That's 150, not 5. That's more like it. |
May 4th, 2003, 12:49 PM | #11 |
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Ben wrote, "In fact, I have one D8 tape that I've played back at least 50 times and I haven't had one dropout on it and I don't believe that's the exception."
That's because D8 is more robust. It runs at a faster speed plus it is 18 microns, I seem to recall, than miniDV's 10 microns. You can check up on the formats here: http://www.adamwilt.com |
May 5th, 2003, 03:44 AM | #12 |
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A note on the life of magnetic recording. Played some audio recordings I made in ~1965 last night, they were on Ampex-branded white box, reel-to-reel tape. Sounded about as good as they did back then.
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May 5th, 2003, 09:04 PM | #13 |
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MiniDV is similar to DATs. These have excellent re-usability, trust me on that one. Sometimes I would record over and over and over. The tape is less the issue than the recorder/player is.
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May 6th, 2003, 04:39 AM | #14 |
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Keep in mind that MiniDV tape is ME (evaporated metal) formulation. Those of you who have shot Hi8, may recall that it was the formulation most prone to most prone to drop out.
While tape has improved significantly over the past 10 years, I suspect that the jury may stil bel out on long term, drop out free life of material recorded on ME tape. |
June 4th, 2003, 01:43 AM | #15 |
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Peter, I've found 5 to 7 playbacks and I begin to see dropouts. Of course, this could be due to the cheaper cams with cheaper heads I mainly use. With my MX300, I have not noticed any drop-outs yet.
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