X-Dave_z
Imported Account
May 2, 2003, 2:06 PM
Post #4 of 5
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Ahhh.....the old "new or used" discussion..... <grin>
This one has been beat to death here and elsewhere but I'll chuck in my $.02 again....
<deeeep breath> <grin>
I have been in the video biz for over 12 years...was weaned on 1" and 3/4" tape.....And one thing has always been a rule in the Corporate/Industrial arena....if it is something that quality is paramount for, new tape...period. Is it a shoot? New tape. Mastering an edit? New tape. Work tape or rough edits? Used is fine.A backup copy to a backup copy? Used is fine.
Why?? Tape is just metal oxide glued to a polymer base. Over time and with each use the oxide particles come loose and drop off, meaning that there is nothing for the signal to "stick" to in that spot...short answer, this mean "dropout".
Now, as quality of tapestock has gone up, dropouts are reduced etc. MiniDV is packed more densely with smaller particles, so dropout is theoretically reduced. Plus, since it is digital, some interpolation is done by the playback deck where small dropouts have occured....
DV tape (all formats) is STILL oxides glued to polymers. True, much better quality than the old 3/4" days...but still potential.
PLUS -- a brand new tape is statisticly more likely to be in good shape overall than a tape that has been reused -- from a dropout and physical damage perspective -- unless you have a very stringent tape recycling proceddure.....there was some money in this a while back....machines would actually de-spool 3/4" cassettes and check every inch of the tape for quality and then re-spool. The single-passed tape could then be resold as recycled. Technically it had been passed twice or more...once from the orignial uses(s) and then again during the recylce process. But it wasalso accepted that recycled (while being cheaper) also had more potential for dropouts.
In actual real world scenarios, your mileage may vary...and it is up to you to do what is comfortable for you.
In my opinion, using fresh, new, never before used stock is cheap insurance for a job where you get only one chance to do it right. At $4-6/tape, it is cheap insurance, a tax-deductible expense, or you can work the expense into your pricing structure very easily.
I mean, look at it this way: Brand new AA batteries are what...$5.00 for 4 alkalines?? Do you use used batteries in your wireless mics and risk the mics or minidisc recorder dying in the middle of the vows because you "think" they have enough juice left, or do you change them before the wedding starts??
Batteries and tapes are both items with limited usefull lives.....how much life you can eak from a tape to save $30-$40 shouldn't be the goal....insuring the most optimal odds for the best possible recording should be.
Many will argue against this, many for.....like I said, your call...
DZ
: Hey all,
: What do you most of you folks do with these? Does anyone every reuse them? (at least once) If so, good or bad thing?
: Al
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