Life of a Tape
 

What is the averege life of a MicroMV or DV tape.
How many hours of video can be recorded on a tape.
does it starts to wearout if it is not used for a period of time
and for how long a sealed pack of tape can be kept without using it.

Hi-8 Tape Life
 

I was just about to post a similar question pertaining to Hi-8 tapes. I know the format is out of date, but the customer requires Hi-8 tape recording.

How many times can a Hi-8 tape cartridge be reused to record before tape wear starts to create drop-outs?

Do Hi-8 cartridges fail before the actual tape?

Any anecdotal evidence is appreciated, any empirical evidence would be very appreciated.