DV tapes hard to get? at DVinfo.net

James David Walley · June 2nd, 2010, 11:06 PM

A friend of mine, just finishing production on her most recent feature, reported a strange phenomenon to me: whereas, a month ago, she had no problem finding (mini)DV tapes at the usual big-box stores in the area, two weeks later, there were none to be found at any of them, merely at dedicated camera stores (for exorbitant prices). Further, she was told by the sales staff at these national and regional chains that they were no longer stocking DV tapes.

Has anyone else encountered this phenomenon? I know tapes are obtainable online, but this is the first time I have heard of the supply drying-up or being phased-out by bricks-and-mortar retailers. I'm not seeing the same thing in my local area (although I notice that Walmart is now only selling them online, not in stores). Has such a sudden "vanishing act" been happening in your area?

Michael Wisniewski · June 2nd, 2010, 11:24 PM

It certainly does seem to be getting more difficult to find MiniDV tapes in many consumer stores. I have a feeling stores are experiencing less demand for MiniDV tapes with all the solid state devices flooding the market. My experiences recently trying to buy some in Madrid, Florence, Hong Kong & Shanghai were slightly problematic. Even in the U.S., I'm seeing less stock in the stores.

I do a lot of traveling and editing on the road, and an HDV / tape-based solution is still the best solution for me (instant backup, easy to edit original files, low disk space usage). But I'm hoping for a laptop with a CS5 accelerated CUDA graphics chip, so I can edit native AVCHD/h.264 on the road and leave the tape world behind.

Perrone Ford · June 2nd, 2010, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

But I'm hoping for a laptop with a CS5 accelerated CUDA graphics chip, so I can edit native AVCHD/h.264 on the road and leave the tape world behind.

Why are you waiting? I bought one 2 years ago.

Michael Wisniewski · June 3rd, 2010, 10:06 AM

Perrone, which laptop is that? It has an NVIDIA GPU that will accelerate H.264/AVCHD using the Mercury Engine?

Perrone Ford · June 3rd, 2010, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Wisniewski

Perrone, which laptop is that? It has an NVIDIA GPU that will accelerate H.264/AVCHD using the Mercury Engine?

Dell Mobile Workstation... M6300. It's been superseded now by the M6400. I bought it specifically for Avid use since Avid specified a Quadro. Any Avid certified machine will accelerate H.264/AVCHD since they use the same technology in Avid and have for over a year, maybe 2 years now.

Andrew Smith · June 7th, 2010, 04:26 AM

I can still happily get tapes in Brisbane, Australia. No problems with retail (even if they don't stock my preferred Sony blues).

Professional tapes such as the Sony PHDV276 are easily available at my professional video shop, though I do have to order in advance for decent quantities. Would need to give a good week of notice if I needed to purchase a large number of tapes. They are simply managing how many dollars they have tied up in stock.

Andrew

Don Bloom · June 7th, 2010, 04:31 AM

Back to the OPs question about availability of tapes. Why are you buying them at big box stores? First you will always pay more than needed, 2nd, they are available in quanties large and small at various online retailers and for less than what you pay at big box stores.

Tape is still a viable form of media and will likely be around for a lot longer than some people would want to admit and yes tape is everywhere.

If you want a couple of names of quality vendors PM me.

Stelios Christofides · June 7th, 2010, 12:36 PM

Do DV tapes have an expiring date?

Stelios

David Barnett · June 7th, 2010, 12:57 PM

Wouldn't surprise me if this occured. I've read where someone went into their Best Buy & they no longer had a CD's section!! Which is surprising and ironic, since they put all the indy chains & music shops out of business. I've noticed the one by me the cd section is extrememly reduced, with a large Ipod/Iphone kiosk in much of it's place.

So yeah, wouldn't surprise me a bit. As to Dom's statement, sometimes I just run low. I'm not a full professional enough to where I always have tapes. Although yeah now I have about 30 extras stocked up here.

Stelios I don't think they have expiration dates (within reason), but they would need to be stored properly (avoid extreme heat/humidity)

D.J. Ammons · June 9th, 2010, 10:22 PM

In the Nashville area Best Buy, Wal Mart, and all the major dedicated Electronics stores still cary DV tapes but unless it is an emergency I buy them online. I can buy Sony DV tapes from the internet for around $2.20 each, less than half the best price locally.

I do believe it will become harder to get DV tapes over the next year or two as most new camcorder purchases will probably be for tapeless ones.

I know I will still be able to buy them online. I only hope demand stays strong enough to keep the prices down. My next cameras will record to SD cards but seeing as I have a lot of $$$ invested in two great Sony V1U cameras that are only a couple of years old I think that will be down the road a bit. Besides I like the safety of having the raw footage outside of a hard drive if something bad happens!

Gabe Strong · June 9th, 2010, 11:33 PM

No problems here. Walmart still has them, as well as Costco and Fred Meyer. It's nice to be able to
pick up some tapes locally if you have a unplanned shoot, ordering off the internet just doesn't work
for everything, because of the time it takes.

Shawn Legg · June 10th, 2010, 01:48 AM

My Future shop here in Canada has about 3 mini dv tapes at any one time :( Usually JVC never any sony. Which ended up being a blessing because I discovered B and H online and have never looked back.

Dale Guthormsen · June 13th, 2010, 09:16 PM

Good evening,

why would you ever buy tapes over the counter at 4 times or more the cost of buying them bulk. Walmart and other conclomertaes carry them but they arre expensive. B7H sell them in bulk cheap!!

Martyn Hull · June 14th, 2010, 01:49 AM

Amazon.co.uk: mini dv tapes

where is it hard to get hold of them, certainly not here.

Gabe Strong · June 14th, 2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Guthormsen

Good evening,

why would you ever buy tapes over the counter at 4 times or more the cost of buying them bulk. Walmart and other conclomertaes carry them but they arre expensive. B7H sell them in bulk cheap!!

Hmmm.....because you live in Juneau, Alaska where EVERYTHING comes in by boat or plane and
even Fed Ex won't honor their shipping time guarantees? And say maybe you have a client call
you and want you to do a shoot in 3 or 4 days? And say you don't have enough tape stock
on hand to do a 4 camera shoot of a 3 hour event (12 tapes needed at least). And say this
gig pays 5 grand? Might that be worth stopping by the local Walmart? I buy tapes at the local
stores all the time because I don't get enough advance notice from clients.....I need at least a week
advance notice to ensure that I will get any internet ordered tapes on time. Having local stores
that carry tape is absolutely vital to my business.

June 2nd, 2010, 11:06 PM	#1
James David Walley New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Maple Valley, Washington Posts: 16	DV tapes hard to get? A friend of mine, just finishing production on her most recent feature, reported a strange phenomenon to me: whereas, a month ago, she had no problem finding (mini)DV tapes at the usual big-box stores in the area, two weeks later, there were none to be found at any of them, merely at dedicated camera stores (for exorbitant prices). Further, she was told by the sales staff at these national and regional chains that they were no longer stocking DV tapes. Has anyone else encountered this phenomenon? I know tapes are obtainable online, but this is the first time I have heard of the supply drying-up or being phased-out by bricks-and-mortar retailers. I'm not seeing the same thing in my local area (although I notice that Walmart is now only selling them online, not in stores). Has such a sudden "vanishing act" been happening in your area?

June 7th, 2010, 04:31 AM	#7
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Back to the OPs question about availability of tapes. Why are you buying them at big box stores? First you will always pay more than needed, 2nd, they are available in quanties large and small at various online retailers and for less than what you pay at big box stores. Tape is still a viable form of media and will likely be around for a lot longer than some people would want to admit and yes tape is everywhere. If you want a couple of names of quality vendors PM me. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

June 7th, 2010, 12:36 PM	#8
Stelios Christofides Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Nicosia, CYPRUS Posts: 1,080	Do DV tapes have an expiring date? Stelios __________________ My Blog: http://steliosc.blogspot.com "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free" Nikos Kazantzakis

June 13th, 2010, 09:16 PM	#13
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Good evening, why would you ever buy tapes over the counter at 4 times or more the cost of buying them bulk. Walmart and other conclomertaes carry them but they arre expensive. B7H sell them in bulk cheap!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

June 14th, 2010, 01:49 AM	#14
Martyn Hull Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: England Posts: 444	Amazon.co.uk: mini dv tapes Amazon.co.uk: mini dv tapes where is it hard to get hold of them, certainly not here.

June 2nd, 2010, 11:24 PM	#2
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	It certainly does seem to be getting more difficult to find MiniDV tapes in many consumer stores. I have a feeling stores are experiencing less demand for MiniDV tapes with all the solid state devices flooding the market. My experiences recently trying to buy some in Madrid, Florence, Hong Kong & Shanghai were slightly problematic. Even in the U.S., I'm seeing less stock in the stores. I do a lot of traveling and editing on the road, and an HDV / tape-based solution is still the best solution for me (instant backup, easy to edit original files, low disk space usage). But I'm hoping for a laptop with a CS5 accelerated CUDA graphics chip, so I can edit native AVCHD/h.264 on the road and leave the tape world behind.

June 3rd, 2010, 10:06 AM	#4
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Perrone, which laptop is that? It has an NVIDIA GPU that will accelerate H.264/AVCHD using the Mercury Engine?

June 7th, 2010, 04:26 AM	#6
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,018	I can still happily get tapes in Brisbane, Australia. No problems with retail (even if they don't stock my preferred Sony blues). Professional tapes such as the Sony PHDV276 are easily available at my professional video shop, though I do have to order in advance for decent quantities. Would need to give a good week of notice if I needed to purchase a large number of tapes. They are simply managing how many dollars they have tied up in stock. Andrew

June 7th, 2010, 12:57 PM	#9
David Barnett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 951	Wouldn't surprise me if this occured. I've read where someone went into their Best Buy & they no longer had a CD's section!! Which is surprising and ironic, since they put all the indy chains & music shops out of business. I've noticed the one by me the cd section is extrememly reduced, with a large Ipod/Iphone kiosk in much of it's place. So yeah, wouldn't surprise me a bit. As to Dom's statement, sometimes I just run low. I'm not a full professional enough to where I always have tapes. Although yeah now I have about 30 extras stocked up here. Stelios I don't think they have expiration dates (within reason), but they would need to be stored properly (avoid extreme heat/humidity)

June 9th, 2010, 10:22 PM	#10
D.J. Ammons Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 506	In the Nashville area Best Buy, Wal Mart, and all the major dedicated Electronics stores still cary DV tapes but unless it is an emergency I buy them online. I can buy Sony DV tapes from the internet for around $2.20 each, less than half the best price locally. I do believe it will become harder to get DV tapes over the next year or two as most new camcorder purchases will probably be for tapeless ones. I know I will still be able to buy them online. I only hope demand stays strong enough to keep the prices down. My next cameras will record to SD cards but seeing as I have a lot of $$$ invested in two great Sony V1U cameras that are only a couple of years old I think that will be down the road a bit. Besides I like the safety of having the raw footage outside of a hard drive if something bad happens!

June 9th, 2010, 11:33 PM	#11
Gabe Strong Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Juneau, AK Posts: 814	No problems here. Walmart still has them, as well as Costco and Fred Meyer. It's nice to be able to pick up some tapes locally if you have a unplanned shoot, ordering off the internet just doesn't work for everything, because of the time it takes.

June 10th, 2010, 01:48 AM	#12
Shawn Legg Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Hamilton, ONTARIO Posts: 29	My Future shop here in Canada has about 3 mini dv tapes at any one time :( Usually JVC never any sony. Which ended up being a blessing because I discovered B and H online and have never looked back.