Comments

noFony wrote on 10/31/2002, 8:16 PM
Compared to what? It's just a brand name.
tinklady wrote on 10/31/2002, 8:43 PM
Oh, the question was dumber than I thought. Someone is trying to sell me some tapes that he says is broadcast quality. What ever that means? I put Photo's on video and would like the best quality picture i could get from VHS tape. Any suggestions?
Thanks again
Paul_Holmes wrote on 10/31/2002, 9:06 PM
To get the best quality from DV to video tape you might want to invest in a Super-VHS video recorder with S-Video input. This will put more color information in the final analog output and on the VHS tape. (This assumes you are filming in DV and have S-Video out from your camera). As far as tape quality goes, the major difference is that higher-costing tapes might hold up longer.
tinklady wrote on 10/31/2002, 9:16 PM
Would you say that their is not much difference then in High quality tape and a profession quality tape in picture quality? Thanks for the advice about the s-video I do have all the things to make a S-Video tape. It is the fact that most of the people I make them for do not have a S-Video player.
Paul_Holmes wrote on 10/31/2002, 9:46 PM
This is only gut knowledge and instinct, but you'd find little difference in perceivable quality in a 3 dollar versus a 5 dollar tape. Now maybe a .50 tape would be pretty suspect.
My point about using an s-video recorder was not about S-VHS tapes. I meant using regular tapes, normal VHS, you'll get better color information using the S-Video input. I don't do tapes anymore, just DVD, but when I tested S-Video input versus just composite, I could definitely see a difference. I think the reason I mentioned an S-VHS recorder was because they may be the only recorders that allow S-Video input (at least that's why I bought mine 2 years ago).
tinklady wrote on 10/31/2002, 9:59 PM
I will certainly try that. I have learned a lot from you Thank you very much.
AlexB wrote on 11/1/2002, 3:57 AM
The coating BASF uses was known to have slightly higher abrasive effect than others. I do not know whether that is still true. I used to take these instead of cleaning tape. Didn't do any harm to my video heads in 10 years.
craftech wrote on 11/1/2002, 7:12 AM
What do you intend to do with the tapes? Are they to sell after you put the photos on them? Are they to archive the photos? If they are, you may be better off archiving them on a CD-R if you have a burner.
If they are to sell, the only difference in quality from one VHS tape to the other is in the durability of the shell. The media is all the same.
I generally Print To Tape from the timeline using my video camera to transcode the firewire signal to analog. Then I go from the camera's S-Video output to the SVHS deck's S-Video input. If you don't have an S-Video input on your VHS deck use a composite to composite output to input.
If your computer's video card has an S-Video or composite output, you can go from there into the deck.
Chienworks wrote on 11/1/2002, 9:27 AM
Keep in mind if you're using an SVHS deck that you record in VHS mode, not in SVHS mode. Tapes recorded in SVHS will NOT play back properly on standard VHS machines.

I'll also put in a vote for Maxell's High Grade tapes. I've used thousands of Maxell tapes and never had one go bad on me yet. Some of them have been played hundreds of times and still work well.
Tyler.Durden wrote on 11/1/2002, 9:33 AM
Hi Tink,

I can't say with great authority these days, but a while back when I was duplicating by the hundreds, the chief concern was dropout.

We would test numerous stock samples from manufacturers, by recording just blue in the video and checking for dropout (white flicks). You will see the most at the head and tail of a tape due to the tightness of the wind near the spindle. I haven't tested current stock, but formulas have gotten very good. i.e. Fuji has a great reputation in the hi8/D-8 stock market. The current formulas will likely have little difference in color-fidelity in standard VHS recordings.

The "broadcast-grade" loads are reputed to be loaded from the outer regions of the large platter that the loader uses (a huge roll of tape). Whether this is true for any VHS tape, I can't say.

I concur with the advice to use an Svid input if available. The less you hit composite/NTSC the better, even if you print to standard VHS tape using the SVHS recorder.

HTH, MPH
Summersond wrote on 11/1/2002, 10:39 AM
I use TDK Vivid tape stock for my clients. Very good price ($1.75 wholesale for a T-120 last time I ordered)and great reliability and picture - very few dropouts. I also like Fuji for making a VHS master - say - for a Bride and Groom's master tape. They can keep the master and play it a few times, but I recommend they make a copy of that master and watch the copy so if the VCR messes up and eats the tape, they don't lose their only tape. Now that DVD is here, it won't be such an issue in the future as we go to DVD.

dave
GaryAshorn wrote on 11/1/2002, 2:07 PM
I am with Dave and use TDK. BASF used to be known quite well for high abrasion and head wear on tape decks. The term Broadcast quality is a loose term not applied correctly for what it is about. My personal Opinion is to avoid BASF and Polaroid tape due to high abrasion on your Tape machine heads.

Gary Ashorn, PE
chriselkins wrote on 11/1/2002, 2:38 PM
Tape is not just tape. The more expensive broadcast quality ones are thicker, have more emulsion, and will play many more times before quality gets visibly worse, which happens with every tape eventually. Never use the longer tapes (6-hour or 8 hour) if you have a choice for shorter. Shorter is better because it's thicker. Also, fast forward and rewind your VHS tape completely before making your dub. This will help even out the tension. I have never seen broadcast quality VHS tapes at a grocery store or Wal-Mart or what have you. (I use VHS and Broadcast Quality in the same sentence very loosely!) You have to get it from a vendor who supplies professionals, or sometimes you get lucky and can find it at a camera store.

Best bet= burn a DVD! VHS even SVHS is really considered low quality these days!

tinklady wrote on 11/1/2002, 4:31 PM
I am thinking or buying 100-60 min tapes from ebay. With shiping it will end up costing about about $90 which is a great price, but the only information about them is New High quality VHS tapes for home or professional use. No brand or anything Does anyone have any experience with buying these, or could it be too good to be true? Thanks everyone for all your advice it has helped me a lot. I love Vegas and vegas people. Now I need to find some short running tapes.
tserface wrote on 11/1/2002, 4:40 PM
I use a ton of the BASF 30 minutes tapes for short videos and they always come out looking clean. I like them because you can buy them online for around $1.20 each and it is a good quality VHS. I can't really use S-VHS for general distribution since not everyone can play S-VHS (they need SVHS or SVHS-ET).

Tom
wcoxe1 wrote on 11/1/2002, 8:02 PM
About a week ago, Walmart had at least 4 brands in a total of 6 grades (3 "Standard" and 3 "Premium") for between $0.99 and $1.29 each in bundles of 10. They included Sony, Maxell, RCA, and TDK. There were also several others under $1.99, but I don't remember much about them. I bought the Sony Premium for $1.19 each, for 10.

Oddly, right next door was SAM's Club, owned by Walmart, but they ONLY had Standard Grade Maxell, and it was $0.20 MORE than at Walmart. Something odd about that. More and more I end up buying from Walmart instead of Sam's. And everybody thinks that Sam's is cheaper. HA!

Not long ago I bought some "Broadcast" VHS tapes from www.taperesources.com

Tape Resources explained that "Broadcast" VHS tape could mean a variety of things. Among them, 127 minute tapes, or tapes without paper sleeve or label. Not always a quality issue.

The 127 minute tapes are IDEAL for holding the contents of two FULL Mini-DV tapes, with about 1 1/2 minutes to spare for titles, etc.

I typically buy from Tape Resources when I need 20 or more tapes at a time. Great service and prices, in general.