Are DV tapes able to play in differnt camcorder ?

A

AAC

Member
I used 2 camcorders (one HDV, one 3 CCD) to tape event. They are all using mini DV tapes to record video.
Can DV tapes be able to play back in different camcorders, as long as those camcorders are DV tapes compatible ?
Will the quality of footage be changed if HDV tapes played on 3CCD camcorder, for example ?
Any stand alone DV tapes player is recommended for editing ? I try to avoid keep using my camcorder to re-wind and play back.

Many thanks.
 
The tape is independent of the format recorded on it. You can record HDV onto a miniDV tape, but you cannot play that tape on a miniDV camcorder, for example.

All HDV camcorders can play back miniDV, no miniDV camcorders can play back HDV.

And no, regarding digitizing footage: the quality of the camcorder has no effect on the video it's playing back; DV and HDV are digital tape systems and when a camcorder plays back a tape it is digitally transferred to the edit station.

However, if you're talking about playing back footage and watching it on a TV, then yes, the better camcorder may make the footage look better (owing to better/higher-quality digital-to-analog circuitry, etc).
 
Thank you Barry for your advice.
Since the DV tape desk is so expensive (why they are so expensive ?), can I simply get a cheap DV camcorder to transfer standard resolution footage from DV tapes to computer for editing or home use stand alone DVD burner without losing the original quality ?
 
Barry_Green said:
The tape is independent of the format recorded on it. You can record HDV onto a miniDV tape, but you cannot play that tape on a miniDV camcorder, for example.
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So am I getting this right? I can purchase a cheapo $4 Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ and insert in ia HDV camera and ONLY record HDV with no problems? Isn't HDV more demanding on tape quality? Then why the need for the more expensive "HDV" tapes that run at $9+ a pop?
 
Super8 said:
So am I getting this right? I can purchase a cheapo $4 Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ and insert in ia HDV camera and ONLY record HDV with no problems? Isn't HDV more demanding on tape quality? Then why the need for the more expensive "HDV" tapes that run at $9+ a pop?
Click to expand...

HDV uses an interframe long GOP (group of pictures) compression in which every 15 frames is linked together as a group, with only the 1st frame being independently recorded. This is in contrast to DV in which every frame is recorded independent of one another. The result is that when a dropout occurs on DV recording, you only lose a few frames, no big deal. But if dropout occurs when recording HDV, you just lost 15 frames in a row, and your video will just freeze for half a second. Supposedly, the more expensive HDV tape are less prone to drop out, but I haven't seen any statistical study that show this to be true.

I used to use the expensive Sony HDV tape; encountered some drop out (not frequently) on those. I now use the cheaper Pana tape, encountered some drop out (again, not frequently). The point is that 99% of the tape out there are fine, but once in a while you get a bad tape and there's dropout. For me personally it's not worth forking out the extra $$ for that security.
 
Huy Vu said:
I used to use the expensive Sony HDV tape; encountered some drop out (not frequently) on those. I now use the cheaper Pana tape, encountered some drop out (again, not frequently). The point is that 99% of the tape out there are fine, but once in a while you get a bad tape and there's dropout. For me personally it's not worth forking out the extra $$ for that security.
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excellent answer...wow I am taken back. All this time I thought the more expensive the tape the better ESPECIALLY with HDV recording. I've heard various people say that the cheap tape is as good as the expensive tape 99% of the time when recording HDV...but it never made any sense to me. Never understood that you really do not need to purchase specific "HDV" tape over regular miniDV tape.

On that subject...cheap Sony or Panasonic tape? Is there a difference or preference?
 
I think many people, including myself use a small mini-dv cam as a recorder to the computer, so i guess this is a good way. You should'nt use the dvx deck to much they say. But you can also hear people talking about never using the same tape in the dvx that you have had in another camera. so wich is right?
 
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