Which brand of tape do you use with your MX 500?
 

Hi,
I'd like to know which brand of tape you use with your mx 500, also, is there any to avoid.
I know that you should stick with the same brand.......
Thanks.....

Hi Sean,

Thanks for posting. Your question is probably the most frequently asked question here at DV Info. Please use the search function to help locate the many threads on this subject. To start your search, please use the search button in the upper right.

If after reading the posts you still have additional questions please post back under a new topic. Thanks again fro posting.

Just to add..., find a good brand/type of tape, if it works fine, stick with it. In other words, don't mix tape brands and don't mix models of tapes from the same brand. My experience has been with mixing tapes, you get head problems---sooner or later. If you pick a good one, and only use that one, you'll have the least amount of head related problems.

Hi Frank,
Thanks for your reply.

So in that case, do you recomend any brand, that would work well with the MX 500/ MX 5000?

I'm about to purchase the above camcorder, and would like to avoid the problems you had by mixing tapes.

As I dont know which tape would work well, i'd have to buy many different brands, and as you say, this is bad.......

So as soon as I purchase the Camcorder, I'd like to get the one and only RIGHT DV tape, right from the very start.

IE is it better to use Panny tapes with the MX 500/5000?

Ive seached this part of the forum, and can find no exact answer to my question.


Thanks for any help........

Well, to be honest, I would recommend the Fuji brand minDV tape. That's what I use. Here's a bit about miniDV tape:

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

Also, in my first MX300 cam, I only used Panasonic tape, and did not have any problems. I did have problems with JVC tapes in my 1st DVL9500U; and I've heard several horror stories from people using Maxell and this other cheap brand which I can't recall at the moment. Anyways, I've been using Fuji for a number of years and I think it's great tape.

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your reply.



Fuji it is then. Thanks.
Is Fuji DVC the one you use?

Yes, the one I use says this on the front cover:

Fujifilm
SP60min
DVCassette
miniDV - digital video cassette
In LP Mode 90min
(70.4m/230ft.) DVM60(ME)

On the side cover it reads:

Fujifilm DVCcassette DVM60AME U


PS: it's the one I use.

Hi Frank,
Thanks again for the help.

Ive got one of these Fuji DVC tapes, still unwraped.

It has a few different numbers on it, but that must be because i'm in Europe.-

DVM60CME E


This will be the tape I use with my new camcorder.

Ive been using different Sony tapes in my old DV camcorder, and you can see the muck on the rollers inside it.
I think i'll give it a clean, then change brands to Fuji too.

Thanks again for all of your help.

We have no Fuji tapes in Singapore, at least, I haven't found any.

I use Sony tapes, the cheapest type. For head-cleaner, I use the Panasonic dry cleaning tape.

I found that head clogs happens very often when I used Panasonic tapes (about 10 tape hours per cleaning), but the Sony tapes can go for about 50 tape hours before any cleaning is required.

That's exactly my point: find a good one and stick with it. However, when I used to do a lot shooting with other people's cams, before I owned a cam, I found that many brands of tapes had no consistency with quality. Sometimes the tape was good, other times it was not. Of course I also mixed tapes in those days, because I used what was handed to me. Over the years I've found that Fuji was always consistent and of very high quality. One final point: JVC tape always let me down with G_d awful head clogs.

Thanks guys..... I'll be using Fuji from now on.....

Does the use of a brand name tape , i.e. Fuji, require a specific brand name Head Cleaner? I can't find one made by Fuji. Is the Panasonic Head Cleaner OK to use?

From my experience, a head cleaner is a head cleaner. I would say it's okay.

Hi, all.

While we're on the subject of which tapes to use....


Just out of curiosity: how long does your DV tape's recording last i.e. has anyone experienced "dropouts" or blocks that appear after keeping the tape for a certain amount of time i.e. 1 year, 2 years etc.

And kept properly of course, completely rewinding and fast forwarding the tape every 6 months as suggested by the manual (somewhere at the back - Cautions for use - Cassette).

After 5 to 7 playbacks, I see drop-outs and blocks. I've got some tape as old as miniDV itself, and they seem okay. It's the playing back that hurts them, I think.