Different Mini DV Tape Quality

dan4dvd wrote on 12/21/2004, 10:49 AM
I am transfering my VHS to Mini DV tape and wondered what quality difference there is between different brands (e.g., Sony, JVC, Panasonic, etc.). Also, there seem to be "regular" Mini DV tapes and "Premium" Mini DV tapes.

What is the difference and how much can you tell? Would it depend on what kind of project I am doing?

Thanks.

Comments

Steve Grisetti wrote on 12/21/2004, 12:25 PM
I would be surprised if there was any discernible difference between brands of tape, or between regular and premium tape. The reason is that you're dealing with a digital medium. In the analog world, you need quality tape to record with any quality. But, in the digital world, you're just recording 1s and 0s -- so you either get perfect or nothing at all. There is no in between.

Still, something ought to account for the difference, shouldn't it? But, from the point of view of tape as data carriers, there's really no gray area, as I understand it.

On the other hand, I have heard that different brands use different lubes and that using several different brands of tape can gum up your camcorder -- but I've never seen any evidence of this in the real world.
Steve Grisetti wrote on 12/21/2004, 1:39 PM
Did a little more reading on the web, dan, and this thing just gets a more mysterious the deeper you go!

Seems that premium isn't even the top of the line DV tape. There's also excellence -- and another type that has a "memory chip" in it to take advantage of a feature on some new camcorders, they say.

So what's the difference? It appears to be mainly durability. The premium and higher tapes are made of a stronger material that increases durability and lessens the chance of drop-outs (tape flaws that interrupt your video for a frame or two). If these things are an issue for you, it may be worth the extra cost. But, as far as the "quality" of the data -- it's like I said, it's all just 1s and 0s. One tape doesn't record a better digital track than another. As long as they record the data the camera feeds them, they results are the same.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Maybe there's a expert out there with more knowledge on the subject.
ronatsony wrote on 12/24/2004, 8:58 AM
here is a recent discussion about tapes---
http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=39&page=1&pp=10

sometimes these discussions are like Ford vs Chevy but i think this one is informative.

ron