What
is the difference in tape from the different professional tape manufacturers?
In some cases none, in other cases there are some. When a tape manufacturer
licenses a format from the hardware maker, e.g. Fuji licenses the
right to make Beta SP tape,
Fuji has to make the tape within the performance specifications
of the hardware as provided by Sony. If not, they would lose the
right to make the tape. So all the tape is 'pretty good'. Tape Manufacturers
can make the tape much better than the specs, if they choose to.
In other cases, consistency is the name of the game. All manufacturers
occasionally have a bad batch. Consistently good product is what
to look for.
In some cases, there is no difference. It was a well known fact, when
Panasonic first came out with M2 tape, that the tape was made by Fuji.
There are many such OEM arrangements which are not allowed to be disclosed,
in which one manufacturer makes tapes for another manufacturer. Reason
is, each manufacturer has only so many resources and capacity, and
it is often less expensive for them to source the tape from a competitor,
and put their name on it, than to manufacturer it themselves. (SB)
Are
their differences between blank NTSC, SECAM and PAL tapes?
There is no such thing as a blank NTSC, SECAM or PAL tape.
NTSC, SECAM and PAL refer to different standards used to record
video onto a blank tape. Therefore, when purchasing blank tapes
you do not need to be concerned about whether the tape is NTSC,
SECAM or PAL.
However, the different standards can result in slight differences
in the actual length of recorded material that can fit on a blank
tape (note that this only holds true for formats such as VHS
and not for digital formats such as mini
DV). NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) is a standard
primarily used in North and Central America, The Philippines, South
Korea and Japan. PAL (Phase Alternating Line), is more widely used,
covering most of Western Europe, Scandinavia, Poland, Asia, Australia,
New Zealand, Argentina, parts of the Middle East, Algeria, Eastern
and Southern Africa. SECAM (Sequential Color Memory) is used sparingly
around the world and can be found in France, parts of Greece, Eastern
Europe, Russia, Africa and a few other parts of the world. NTSC displays
up to 525 lines of resolution and opertates at 30 frames / second,
PAL and SECAM have the ability to display 625 lines of resolution
and operate at 25 frames / second.
The following chart compares the recording/playback times of VHS
tapes using the PAL, SECAM and NTSC standards:
What
tape do I use in Digital 8?
Sony's new format DIGITAL 8
uses the same tape as regular Hi8.
You can choose to use the MP (Metal Particle) or ME (Metal Evaporative)
Hi-8 tape. Because of the properties of ME, Sony suggests this is
the better tape to use.... it is rather expensive. An alternative
may be Fuji's ME Position (Titanium) tape. But you could even use
regular 8mm tape in a pinch.
But don't expect the same quality.
Why
does my 120min Hi-8 only run 60min in Digital 8?
Sony's DIGITAL 8 uses the same
tape as regular Hi8, but it runs at twice the speed, so you only
get half the time. When you buy tape packaged for Digital 8 you
can see both running times. But if you choose the more professional
Hi 8 tape, you will only see
the longer times, and will have to half it for actual running time
in Digital 8 format.
How
long will rewritable CD-ROMs (CD-RS) last?
The CD-R's color is a good guide to its longevity. The dye type
matters most because dyes have different chemical compositions,
and thus different life spans. The four major dye types used in
CD-RS can be identified by their
intrinsic color:
Cyanine
Blue-green or distinctly
green - life range from 10 years to as high as 75 years.
Phthalocyanine
Usually gold - reputed shelf
life of something like 100 years.
Formazan
Greenish gold - hybrid of
both above.
Metallized
AZO
Dark blue - a long shelf
life, approaching that of phthalocyanine.
In other words, the ratings are as follows:
Green, Blue-Green
Standard
Greenish Gold
Good
Dark Blue
Better
Gold
Best
It seems that the only dye that could have the smaller life span
of 10 to 75yrs rather than up to 100yrs is the green or blue-green
dye. Those CD's are acceptable for the majority of CD-R uses (routine
backups and legal archival purposes). Gold CD-RS may be an unnecessary
expense for routine storage, but for very long-term archiving (much
longer than 10yrs) they are the best.
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