On 08 Aug 2000 15:04:11 GMT, "Adam Portnoy" wrote:

>What is the best procedure for preparing mini-DV tapes before using them?
>Should I just fast forward and rewind, should I black them and lay timecode
>down. I cannot seem to find this information anywhere.

None needed - remove the wrapping and load it...
(I do run a 20-second blank front end, and it may
not be a bad idea to avoid recording on the last
minute or so [Sony tapes are almost invariably
1:02:30-40 long], though I have never had any
problems recording to the end). BTW, I would still
avoid mixing tape brands (this may still be the
biggest cause of problems, due to lubricant
incompatibilities) - and it may not be
a bad idea to "black" tapes that are to be
reused, to minimize the visibility of dropouts
(it may be that error correction works better
when there is no image but black on the tape).
Otherwise, save your heads and just take care
when reviewing partially recorded tape that you
start recording again where timecode is
present - not hard to do with Mini-DV, since
you can move the tape by single frames with
many camcorders, if necessary.