mixing tapes confusion

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Guest

Guest
Hi,
I know that it's recommended to use Panasonic (dry) tapes in the DVX-100A but what do I do about my sony decks which need to play all the Sony (wet) source tapes I've shot with a pd150 over the years and now source from the panasonic cam? I've heard conflicting opinions in the past. Has anything been made any clearer?

how are people handling this?
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

do you still play your old sony tapes? IF you do, I would recommend you stick to using sony tapes in your DVX. Things are gonna get messy if you dont, even if your really careful. They might not be the best tapes, but will save you alot of headaches down the road.
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

I was under the impression that the pro sony dv decks are robust enough that they can handle all sorts of tapes. So it still holds true to stick to one brand tape for decks too? I'm shopping for a dsr11 deck. This is good to know though before i go sticking all kinds of stuff in there. In that case I will keep my trv900 for old tapes and my JVC dual svhs/minidv for other things too.
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

Ok Here's my question what do you do when you shoot with say a Panasonic Master tape then put it in a Sony deck to import to your computer. Okay now let's say there is still some room on the tape to shoot more stuff. Can I put that tape back in the DVX100 and continue shooting on it? This is sort of the same situation in the sense that you are using the same tape between 2 different components.
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

man for some reason this gets confusing when its pretty simple.

Dont worry about tape brands, who makes what etc. Just stick with one brand for all your uses, if Its sony, or Fuji or Panasonic. Quality of tape makes a difference, but that is not what hurts the heads.

Its the lubrication you need to look out for., if its wet or dry. Fuji is Dry, Panasonic MQ and PQ is Dry, Sony is wet. When a wet lube and a dry lube mix, it MAY create a sticky goo that clogs everything, and screws everything up, so you get massive dropouts and in some cases you need to take the deck/camera in to get "cleaned"

So to make it really easy, just use 1 brand stock for all your DV needs, and You should be fine nomatter where you put it in or out and in again.
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

Sticking to one brand is fine and easy. It isn't the case though when you get other people's tape or maybe some of your older tape from your older gear (a dv camera you maybe don't own anymore) and need to capture that. In this case you might have to have an assortment of decks and cameras borrowed or rented as to not muck up your newer equipment.

That's a pain in the ass. In some cases you have to borrow the actual camera you shot with in a 2 camera shoot (in my case 2 trv900's) in order for it read correctly. The tape from the 2nd 900 won't play in either my 900 or the JVC deck. BUT will play fine in the original camera it recorded on. That's so wacked.

Not simple as you said.
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

Same situation for me. I use Sony DVCAM and miniDV tapes in my decks and all other cameras...SO, I chose to "Stick" ;D to Sony tapes for my DVX100A as well. So far so good.

Andrew
Crystal Clear Media
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

yup.. its good to have one of those $300 minidv cameras around for taking in other tape brands. Remember though, that transfer houses mix tapes all the time, granted they have self cleaning $50,000 decks but still.. I wonder how much it takes to screw things up. Any volunteers to test :) ??
 
Re: mixing tapes confusion

In reply to how long it takes to mess things up.

I know this ain't pro gear I got BUT as an example of how fast
the problem came back for me. Well I got the 900 back from
shop after they had cleaned all internals and replaced the head
and transport mechanisms. Basically a new camera right? ;)
I checked it out to make sure everything was in working order.
Everything was fine. So on my way on tour to Europe. Well
1 week into the tour I start getting drop-outs (Audio and Video)
I'm at this point beyond frustrated as I am on the road with
the 900 as the only camera. I have to resort to recording to MD
and hope that a player when I get back home can be found
that will play my tapes.

So a total of maybe 1 1/2 weeks. Oh I did switch brands at the
time of new heads. (Sony) but yeah that didn't seem to help.
It may be shops fault, I don't trust them anymore, they said
they were certified on returning the camera (for the 3rd! time)
they told me they can't fix it or don't have the authorization to.

eh.
 
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