Tape STINKS!

[Jerry Jones]

There is an organization in Switzerland, the International Standards Organization (ISO), which is responsible for developing and publishing standards and tests.

They have a special test for determining the life of data on optical media. This test, ISO 1827-2002, is used by media manufacturers to determine data life.

The test itself takes approximately 18 months to run and uses cycles of heat and humidity to accelerate aging on recorded discs.

This same type of testing has been done for many years to determine the life of photographic prints, for example.

- Assuming a good initial recording and proper care, consumer grade media can last from one to five years.

- Professional or industrial-grade media can last from five to 75 years.

- True archival-grade media, often with a reflective layer of gold, can last 75 to 200 years.

SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/o35bc

NIST is working on universal standards that all media manufacturers will adhere to that will label media with an estimated life.

For those who don't know, NIST's Web site is here:

http://www.nist.gov/

(NIST is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration.)

For those who don't know, ISO's Web site is here:

http://tinyurl.com/ok6m7

The problem with archival optical media is the price:

http://tinyurl.com/qu5h9

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

John Beale's excellent suggestions for overcoming problems with tape:

http://tinyurl.com/f9zc9

Apparently, the problems with tapes are not uncommon.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Jerry Jones]

Apparently, tape is causing problems for users of HDV camcorders.

http://tinyurl.com/mss2f

Thank you for your continued interest in Sony products.

We wish to inform you that when playing back a tape recorded in HDV format, the image and sound may momentarily stop (for about 0.5 second) on rare occasions, depending on the tape used.

This symptom occurs mainly because the material on the tape surface may slightly peel off and be momentarily attached to the tape or the video head, which makes the camcorder unable to record and/or playback the HDV signals. Depending on the tape used, this symptom may sometimes occur even if the tape used is brand-new, or only used for a short time.

If this symptom occurs during playback, it may be resolved by fast-forwarding the tape for a while from that point and then rewinding it back. However, if it occurs during recording, you cannot recover the data on that portion of the tape.

To prevent this, we recommend using a high quality videotape for recording. Sony’s DV videotapes such as DVM63HD have high quality suitable for HDV recording.

If this symptom often occurs, please try the following :

1. Clean the video head for 10 seconds with a cleaning cassette.

2. Use a Sony videotape.

We recommend Sony’s DVM12CLD for cleaning cassette and Sony’s DVM63HD for HDV recording.

If the problem still persists after trying the above, it may be due to another cause. In this case, please contact yourlocal service centre. A list of Sony service centres can be found in the Support Network page.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Brian Ellis]

Of course Sony will say that: they want to sell their tapes!

Sony tapes are neither better nor worse than any of the major brands; I've used many and have never had tape problems. There is a whole lot of myths around tape, at least one of them started by Sony (don't mix brands, use only Sony tapes in your cam).

[Elie]

I only use my tapes once, never reuse!!

It also depends on the batch of tapes in the market, I was good for years buying Panasonic tapes and all of a sudden one box I bouhgt caused nothing but grief.

Yes Hard disk recording is nice, but if that drive fails you're toast.

Regards,
Elie