On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 17:23:07 -0500, "Francois Arsenault" <francoisa@sympatico.ca> wrote:

[...]

>By the way, how reliable are 80-min tapes, anyway? Based on what I've read

>it seems it's better to use 80-min tapes in SP than to use the LP mode of

>standard 60/90 tapes. I understand the latter can lead to dropped frames and

>some incompability (like the tapes may not work in machines other than the

>camcorder that shot the footage). But how good are 80-min tapes? Are they

>worth the price or would I risk losing my precious footage ewith repeated

>use? Are there any picture quality issues?

With normal use, I have had good luck with both 80 minute tapes and LP-mode (with Sony cameras, which appear to have

better alignment than others, and LP-mode record/play has

had good compatibility among about a dozen Sony camcorders).

>See, I need to produce VHS videos using a MiniDV tape as the source. Since

>switching MiniDV tapes in the middle of a dubbing job is a pain, as well as

>not the most aesthetic option, I prefer to make sure each of my videos fits

>on a single source tape. But the 60-min limit (more like 62, really) of a

>60/90 tape's SP mode forces me to make tough decisions during the editing

>process. I would very much like to be able to produce videos that are longer

>than 62 minutes. I don't dare use the 90-min LP mode. Using 80-min tapes

>seems like a good alternative in theory. But can they be used for repeated

>dubbing without getting damaged? For instance, there's one video that I've

>used to make over 70 VHS copies so far. No sign of damage so far. Can an

>80-min tape do the same without failing me? Can I buy some for a reasonable

>price?

They are about $10/tape in US (www.taperesources.com), but

I would NEVER put a single important master through 70

plays!!! Better solutions: make a set of masters of the

edit from the computer; use the services of an excellent

tape-duping house for VHS copies (these can be better than

we mere mortals can produce [www.e-kmedia.com], and nearly

as cheap), making camera-to-camera FireWire dub tapes

specifically for their use (keeping the original master

copies in your possession...).