Mini DV tapes have a shelf life?

[Jonathan Shannon]

Greetings:

My dad has some mini dv tapes that he's had for around 7 years (un-opened). Can these be used, or do they go "bad" after a time? I ask, because I've read that you're supposed to forward and rewind your tapes every 6 months otherwise the tape may stick to itself.

Anyone had experience in using old tapes?

With appreciation,

[Peter Jefferson]

depending on how they were stored..
everything has a shelf life.. but if they were in a cool dry place away from moisture and mould, then they might still be ok

but it realy depends on what camera ur using an what risks ur willing to take..

if u try the tape make sure u run a head cleaner before and After

[Jonathan Shannon]

Thanks Peter.

[Jeff Jameson]

If it were me, I would try them. But before I would record to them, I would slap them in your camera (or a deck) and fast-forward them to the end and then rewind them back to the beginning.

I've heard several people suggest this for a sort of "best practice for proper storage" technique. In fact, some also say that you should do that once a year to all of your shelved MiniDV tapes. (who keeps track of that?! ;) )

I guess this prevents magnetic particles from "leaking" from one section of the tape to another. Who knows... anyone else confirm or deny this?

[Jonathan Shannon]

My manual recommends that it be done every 6 months.