Best HDV Tapes for the HD110?

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DP StrangeLove

Well-known member
Just got my HD110 today!!
I was wondering what tapes are the most recommended for the JVC HD110. I know that it is recommended to stick with one brand, and that sony tend to be a bit dryer, and panasonic are more moist. How about the PRO HD JVC tapes? I have used Sony HDV tapes before with the HD100, and I would get a few dropouts, so I was wondering if there is anything better to stick to, before I start to shoot away with my HD110.

Do the Master HDV tapes offer any better quality, or are they more reliable?
Is it true that you can shoot HDV onto normal mini DV tapes?

Thanks for any suggestions, and for everyone's help and advice in recommending this amazing camera.
-Benjamin
 
You may have answered your own question when you said "stick with one brand."

I've used Sony's Digital master stock (PHDVM-63DM) exclusively for the past year in a variety of environments. For my money, it's the ONLY tape to rawstock to use

As you know, videotape comes in three grades. Consumer grade, like the stuff you buy at K-Mart (no offense intended), must be avoided at all costs. The so-called "professional grade" is alledgedly a notch above the K-Mart specials, and represents the minimum level of quality control that should be expected for serious work. To muddle matters more, manufacturers now market "master quality" material. (How'd you like that alliteration?)

It may well turn out to be all the same stuff each with a different pricetag. But consider this: I conducted a very informal study at the university where I teach (and where the undergraduates are inclined to buy "cheap"). The frequency of dropouts correlated vaguely to the price of the tape. Obviously, other variables may have contributed to the dropouts. When they arrived in the editing lab, for example, too many students reached into the bottoms of their dusty backpacks to retrieve their tape. Several of them had even managed to lose the box somewhere along the line!

Manufacturers alledgedly exercise more care when they slice digital master stock. Barry Braverman (author of Video Shooter: Storytelling with DV, HD, and HDV cameras) writes that ". . . slitting master grade stock is considerably more precise than lower grade media, and thus reduces the amount of edge debris that can potentially migrate to the tape surface . . . . Master grade tape reduces this risk by 60 percent according to engineers at Sony."

So I'll stick with Sony's digital master stock until I learn that it causes cancer in lab rats and video engineers.
 
I've only run the JVC HDV tapes... at almost $10 a pop. The first few tapes I ran, had all sorts of random red streaks through them. JVC replaced the cam, and there has been a world of difference. So, I'm willing to say the tapes are good, just pricey. Although, it could be worse- DVCPro and DigiBeta are much higher.
 
DP StrangeLove said:
I know that it is recommended to stick with one brand, and that sony tend to be a bit dryer, and panasonic are more moist.
Click to expand...

This is untrue... in fact, the opposite is true... Sony is the only company that still uses a wet lube for their tapes.
 
i'm running the JVC tapes (so as not confuse my sony tapes with my sony cameras) with the Master Pro tapes. $6 each when ordered online at BH of 10 or more. For anything serious (indie film etc) I plan on using the HD master tapes JVC for about $11.
 
pixelator said:
i'm running the JVC tapes (so as not confuse my sony tapes with my sony cameras) with the Master Pro tapes. $6 each when ordered online at BH of 10 or more. For anything serious (indie film etc) I plan on using the HD master tapes JVC for about $11.
Click to expand...

hmmmm update... been using JVC DVM60ME tapes consistantly ($6 each via BH).. still getting time code breaks inspite of HD110 firmware update.... Wondering if this level of PRO tapes, is really consumer, and these are really drop outs... maybe move up to the $9 tapes next time? anyone?
 
pixelator said:
hmmmm update... been using JVC DVM60ME tapes consistantly ($6 each via BH).. still getting time code breaks inspite of HD110 firmware update.... Wondering if this level of PRO tapes, is really consumer, and these are really drop outs... maybe move up to the $9 tapes next time? anyone?
Click to expand...

answeing my own questions here. tried recpaturing broken time code section in FCP. Pre-rolled 1 minute to avoid the 15 minutes of recording to eliminate the thought it was from the long recording time that was tripping up FCP on this and other user's forums. Same drop frame, same time code, same everything. so I'm thinking it's the tape more than the software/firmware that is cuasing breaks in the time code on FCP and the JVC $5 Pro tapes. Will order the Panasonic HD Pro tapes and the JVC HD PRO tapes and see if I have better luck. (hope hope)

Oh, and these are allways fresh new tapes, never reused.
 
are the Sony's Digital master stock (PHDVM-63DM) much better than the panny amq's? ive been using them for 3-4 yrs now is it worth switching?
 
I was going to ask where the best price was, and according to a few posts, B&H is supposed to have the JVC HDPRO tapes for $6? I just checked, and they are listed at around $9 ea. for 9 or more. Did they go up? I had found them online somewhere for $7.50 ea., and for the biggest ripoff, two different online stores, Amazon and MSN, had them in a 50 pack for around $675-700. That's $13.50 ea.
 
I've never used pro stock and haven't had a single issue. Not a single glitch in 3 years of shooting. Usually I get Sony MiniDV tapes from Target because they have the cheapest price (13 bucks for a 4pack).
 
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