DV Tapes

jbgt wrote on 5/13/2004, 4:41 PM

What is the IC chip in some DV tapes and what purpose / advantage does it provide.

Also, I tend to use my tapes once and only once. Given this, is there a real advantage to use the higher end professional tapes at 2x the cost of other tapes?

Thanks,
Jeff

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 5/13/2004, 5:10 PM

The IC chip is a waste of money. It is for titling and effects, all of which are better done in post production (Vegas).

Higher quality tape gives you better signal/noise ratio. Since the signal is stored in digital form, you won't immediately see any difference whatsoever (unlike analog video tape, where better signal/noise provides a cleaner signal). However, in a few years, as the signal starts to fade, it will take longer before you reach the point where the tape deck reading the tape can no longer distinguish between a "1" and a "0" and therefore cannot play the video. So, the better tape will make your recordings last longer.

Jay Gladwell wrote on 5/13/2004, 5:10 PM

The chips allow you to store information on them regarding camera settings. Only certain cameras that can write to the chips make them useful.

Regarding the use of less expensive tapes that you use only once. Depending on what you're shooting, if it is a one shot deal and that low-grade, low-cost tape has a glitch--drop out--you could be in a world of hurt. In the end, the choice is your's. Pay a few bucks more for more dependable tape, or lose hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars due to a job you can't finish because of tape drop out.

J--

P.S. For client's work, I use the Sony Digital Master tapes.

jbgt wrote on 5/13/2004, 5:18 PM

Thanks both for your quick response. It was very helpfull.

RafalK wrote on 5/13/2004, 5:33 PM

All of the above. Quality is worth every single penny. I have been using Panasonic master tapes and have fallen in love with them, see for yourself (http://www.tapeandmedia.com/mini_dv_panasonic_master.asp)

johnmeyer wrote on 5/13/2004, 9:13 PM

In addition to http://www.tapeandmedia.com, I also recommend:

Tape Resources

DGates wrote on 5/13/2004, 9:45 PM

Panasonic tapes have a rep of shedding, even if to a small degree. Most techs that do video head cleaning can always tell when you've used Panasonic tapes by the gunk on the heads.

By the way, you can use tapes 50 times or more with no problems, despite what some may say. That being said, I usually only use tapes once.