Mini DV

I would recommend either Sony or Panasonic, but don't switch back and forth. In terms of the Panasonic tapes, the PQ (professional) tapes and the Walmart/Target variety of Panasonic tapes are compatible, but the MQ uses a different lubricant so I wouldn't mix them. The Sony's seem compatible with one another.
Buy a head cleaning cassette from the same manufacturer of whichever tape brand you are using now and clean the heads first. Then buy a head cleaning cassette from the manufacturer of whichever tape brand you are switching to and use only that one from now on.
It's a pain, but that's the nature of the recordable media industry. Same with recordable DVD's.
This is also in answer to your other post on the same subject.
John

Thank you John.

What about viewing (without recording) a tape from another manufacturer? Is this a problem as well?
And what about using other tapes once in a while? Would this cause a problem as well, or is it only with constant switching from one to the other?

I would have to reccommend Panasonic over Sony. In my personal experience I have notices that Sony tapes have a much higher droput rate than Panasonic tapes. I made the switch to Panasonic about a year ago and have never had any problems with them.

>What about viewing (without recording) a tape from another manufacturer? Is this a problem as well?
And what about using other tapes once in a while? Would this cause a problem as well, or is it only with constant switching from one to the other?<

The tape goes over the same path and contacts those delicate heads just the same as in playing or recording.

No need to freak out if you OCCASIONALLY switch brands, but using Sony and Panasonic in the same machine repetedly will pobably get you in trouble.

Gary

Are you getting dropouts now? If not, you should probably stick with the same brand. If you mix brand, you *might* get dropouts since different brands use different lubricants and can interact to cause dropouts. This used to be a problem. In 1997 or so, Sony and Maxell reformulated their tapes so this isn't supposed to happen. Whether or not this is still a problem I don't know.

You might experience dropouts with the same brand if you:
use LP mode recording (this can definitely cause problems)
are shooting in some extreme environments (changes in heat and moisture might affect things)

In this case a difference brand of mini-DV tape might help... but there's no solid evidence that one brand is better.

If you shoot hundreds of hours on your camera (literally), the dry lubricant Panasonic MQ tapes might cause less head wear. That's what their advertising claims. For casual users, this shouldn't be an issue.