"Andys
cam" <andyscam@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031107170635.23228.00000266@mb-m20.aol.com...
> A
couple of notes:
> I used both Panasonic DV and Sony DV tape
in my VX1000s in 1996 and those
>
Sony tapes are still perfect but the Panasonic have decomposed to the point of
>
being un-watchable. Both recorded on the same cam and both stored side by side.
>
> I always reuse Sony DV and DVCam tape
repeatedly without any problems.
>
Play does not wear or stress the tape any more or less than Record does.
> My DSR 30 seemed to have a malfunction the
other day - I left it in play
>
pause and left the room (and the phone rang, etc., etc.) and came back well
>
over an hour later and the deck did not switch out of Play-Pause and stayed in
>
pause the whole time! (it normally would go into Play after 5 min. or if in
>
Rec. Pause just Stop). I cringed and
replayed over that spot on the tape and
> to
my surprise the image was perfect. I physically looked at that section of
>
the tape and could not see any difference in that area and the rest of the
>
tape. That supports my technician's claim that the tape does not actually touch
>
the head drum and heads but rather rides VERY close but separated by a very
>
thin boundary layer of air. With the head speed at 9,000 RPM that makes good
>
sense. That 'boundary layer' is observed in wind tunnel experiments
> I
keep seeing a few folks recommending to run DV cleaning tapes for not more
>
than 4 or 5 or 7 seconds but NEVER any justification as to why that the camera
>
and tape manufacture's are wrong to recommend a full 10 second pass. And up to
>
three consecutive times, at that!!
This is
useful information. But - I followed the 10-second instructions
for the
Sony cleaning tape when cleaning the heads of a TRV9 that had
had
only Sony tape in it, but which was giving some drop-out problems.
The
result was a "varnished" drum that needed to be replaced (it was
visibly
covered with a tough, translucent material after using the cleaning
tape).
Since then I have kept at least the first pass of the cleaning tape
limited
to 5 seconds, with a 30 second "cool-down" period provided
before
the next pass - and have recommended that others do the same.
Unlike
the Mini-DV tape that has a mirror-finish, the cleaning tape is not
smooth,
and likely contacts the drum and heads (otherwise it would not
clean
them...), and at the high rpm of the drum it is likely high temperatures
are
quickly achieved. While there is a lot of speculation here, I think my
modification
of the original instructions is reasonable (and unlikely to
cause
harm), given my bad experience with following the cleaning tape
instructions.
With nearly clean heads and drum, the 10 second pass
may
well cause no harm (other than wear) - but when a cleaning is really
needed,
perhaps it can...
David Ruether