[KeyLimePi]

Okay, probably a stupid question, but am I losing quality by using the same miniDV tapes over and over?

I keep thinking that it shouldn't. I mean, 13GB of data is 13GB or data, right? As long as all the bits & bytes are there, then the quality won't be degraded, right?

Still...I keep thinking about analog and that mylar tape wearing thin...it just seems like I might be getting a clearer picture if I used a new tape each time.

[MountainMac]

Yes and no. As they are a physical tape media, they will wear out; however, you will not see this as an "unclear" picture but rather loss of data (ones turn into zeroes), meaning you'll get digital artifacts in your picture. Or worse, no picture at all. The same thing happens when your recording heads on your camera get dirty: everything is going fine and then all of a sudden BOOM no picture. This is why you should always carry a cleaning cassette in your camera bag.

I don't know, however, how long DV tapes should last, i.e., how many times they can be recorded over.

MM

[MikeD]

But does the same degradation/wear occur when you simply play tapes? Or does this only happen when you record over a miniDV tape?

[Demonhood]

i imagine there is stress on the tape whenever you play OR record. i've always found it good practice to take the tape out of my camera (as well as the battery) so that it doesn't get stretched in any way. sure, this may not apply as much as when i had a 8mm cam (or it may apply more, i'm not sure), but hey, it can't hurt.

[hadocon]

Another thing to remember is the type of tape that you buy. 30 min tapes actually have a better build quality because the manufacturers can use a better (thicker) strand of mylar - 60 minute tapes must fit twice the amount of mylar in the same amount of space, so manufacturers use a thinner strand of mylar, which is easier to break after prolonged use.

Stay away from the new 120 minute DV tapes

[MountainMac]

Oh, yeah, and to follow up on what hadocon said, only record in SP. Forget about LP recording.