miniDV tape
Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 10:13 am
As promised GG4U here is what I have found about miniDV tape from various websites after two specific problems.
1. A recording on a Panasonic Camcorder that had 5 black bands across using Panasonic DVM83PQ tape when no previous problems.
2. A JVC camcorder that kept jamming on Sony 60 minute Premium tape but worked perfectly with JVC and Fuji tape.
All miniDV tapes are coated with a lubricant as without miniDV camcorder heads would be destroyed in less than a minute by heat damage.
Some use "dry" lubricant and some use "wet" lubricant.
In most cases both work fine, the problem is if wet and dry or even variants of each are mixed as the lubricants intermingle and become tacky clogging video heads and coating the guides and rollers.
Professional cleaning is then required.
The cleaning tapes available will not remove this amount of contamination.
Indeed as most including the Panasonic one is an abrasive type they should very infrequently.
I also have seen a cloth type cleaning tape like the old audio cassette ones that were wetted with Isopropyl Alcohol. With the tiny delicate spinning miniDV heads surely a recipe for disaster.
Trying to manually clean with swabs (not cotton buds!!!) like for VHS heads is risking a broken video head too.
I have found nothing specific about the number of times miniDV tape can be recorded and played as some lubricant must be lost on each passage but I would never make a critical recording on a used tape.
Also every time I load a tape I record 30sec then playback to check to be sure the tape has loaded properly.
Regarding tape types this is what I found -
Commercial Panasonic DVM60/80EK is a dry lubricant.
The last Panasonic DVM80 I bought were suffix FF rather than EK.
I have found nothing definitive but I have not had any problems so these seem to be a compatible lubricant formula, if not the same as EK.
Panasonic Professional DVM63/83PQ is a wet lubricant - hence the problem I experienced while thinking I would get more reliable recordings using this tape.
Fuji DVM60/80CME and Maxell DVM60/80SE commercial tapes are a badged Panasonic tape so assumed to be identical to Panasonic DVM60/80EK or FF.
I have had no problems with Fuji.
JVC make their own tapes. The commercial DV60ME is a dry lubricant very similar to the Panasonic dry lubricant with no reported compatibility problems. I have had more dropouts on JVC tape but to be fair this was, in non-critical situations, reusing tapes I have acquired so the number of previous recordings/playbacks is unknown.
Sony commercial Premium DVM60PR3 in the orange wrapper is a wet lubricant and also these tapes are less free running than the Panasonic/JVC hence why the JVC camcorder kept jamming with these on top of any issues with mixing the wet and dry lubricants.
Hence either only use these or avoid them completely.
TDK make their own tape. I have not found if the lubricant is wet or dry but regardless it is likely different from Panasonic dry or Sony wet.
Hence I now only use Panasonic dry tape as the most common.
Just like VHS E240 compared to E180 the tape in miniDV 80/83 minute cassettes is thinner compared to 60/63minute ones so only use them when you need over 60 minutes continuous recording.
Because miniDV recording is digital unlike VHS in theory there is no quality loss using LP. I have tried it and indeed I can not see a difference.
However it is more prone to dropout with tape flaws and in instructions manuals manufacturers warn about compatibly to play back in another miniDV camcorder.
Currently two good buys are on Amazon and you now only have to spend ?5 to get free Super Saver Delivery on qualifying products -
5 Maxell DVM60SE for ?4.15
5 Fuji DVM60 for ?5.00
1. A recording on a Panasonic Camcorder that had 5 black bands across using Panasonic DVM83PQ tape when no previous problems.
2. A JVC camcorder that kept jamming on Sony 60 minute Premium tape but worked perfectly with JVC and Fuji tape.
All miniDV tapes are coated with a lubricant as without miniDV camcorder heads would be destroyed in less than a minute by heat damage.
Some use "dry" lubricant and some use "wet" lubricant.
In most cases both work fine, the problem is if wet and dry or even variants of each are mixed as the lubricants intermingle and become tacky clogging video heads and coating the guides and rollers.
Professional cleaning is then required.
The cleaning tapes available will not remove this amount of contamination.
Indeed as most including the Panasonic one is an abrasive type they should very infrequently.
I also have seen a cloth type cleaning tape like the old audio cassette ones that were wetted with Isopropyl Alcohol. With the tiny delicate spinning miniDV heads surely a recipe for disaster.
Trying to manually clean with swabs (not cotton buds!!!) like for VHS heads is risking a broken video head too.
I have found nothing specific about the number of times miniDV tape can be recorded and played as some lubricant must be lost on each passage but I would never make a critical recording on a used tape.
Also every time I load a tape I record 30sec then playback to check to be sure the tape has loaded properly.
Regarding tape types this is what I found -
Commercial Panasonic DVM60/80EK is a dry lubricant.
The last Panasonic DVM80 I bought were suffix FF rather than EK.
I have found nothing definitive but I have not had any problems so these seem to be a compatible lubricant formula, if not the same as EK.
Panasonic Professional DVM63/83PQ is a wet lubricant - hence the problem I experienced while thinking I would get more reliable recordings using this tape.
Fuji DVM60/80CME and Maxell DVM60/80SE commercial tapes are a badged Panasonic tape so assumed to be identical to Panasonic DVM60/80EK or FF.
I have had no problems with Fuji.
JVC make their own tapes. The commercial DV60ME is a dry lubricant very similar to the Panasonic dry lubricant with no reported compatibility problems. I have had more dropouts on JVC tape but to be fair this was, in non-critical situations, reusing tapes I have acquired so the number of previous recordings/playbacks is unknown.
Sony commercial Premium DVM60PR3 in the orange wrapper is a wet lubricant and also these tapes are less free running than the Panasonic/JVC hence why the JVC camcorder kept jamming with these on top of any issues with mixing the wet and dry lubricants.
Hence either only use these or avoid them completely.
TDK make their own tape. I have not found if the lubricant is wet or dry but regardless it is likely different from Panasonic dry or Sony wet.
Hence I now only use Panasonic dry tape as the most common.
Just like VHS E240 compared to E180 the tape in miniDV 80/83 minute cassettes is thinner compared to 60/63minute ones so only use them when you need over 60 minutes continuous recording.
Because miniDV recording is digital unlike VHS in theory there is no quality loss using LP. I have tried it and indeed I can not see a difference.
However it is more prone to dropout with tape flaws and in instructions manuals manufacturers warn about compatibly to play back in another miniDV camcorder.
Currently two good buys are on Amazon and you now only have to spend ?5 to get free Super Saver Delivery on qualifying products -
5 Maxell DVM60SE for ?4.15
5 Fuji DVM60 for ?5.00