Mixing up ME tapes should not be a problem.
ME tapes of Sony and JVC are both High Quality tapes.

In the past we had our own company. We sold electronics and tapes.
Both of almost every branch: Sony, JVC, BASF, TDK, PANASONIC etc etc.

What I can tell about the tapes is this:

Both HDV tapes (Sony and JVC) are Metal Evaporated tapes.
The company who sold them to me assured me that the JVC tapes came from the same factory. The only difference is the outside.

That made me test the tapes and the JVC tapes are a perfect tape to use for all work I do. But still, I'm convinced of it's quality after playing the same tapes after a few years from now.

Maybe on thing....I WANTED to use the Premium tapes for DV work. Still have great experience with those tapes in my other cameras. But until now I didn't use them in the A1. Because all work I recorded, was record in HDV.

Still, I'm convinced that when you use good quality tapes. A bit of mixing up should not hurt the camera. Otherwise a lot of people would end up in problems, fast. Believe me.

Panny PQ
 

I am now opening my forth 50 tape box of Panny PQ's. I have not had one issue and even have dropped the cheap panny tape in when needed (Had a box of 5 in my bag and was changing over between plays during a DIV.1 Spring game) and have not experienced any issues.

Just sent in for another 50. Best price I can find for this volume.

http://www.tapeonline.com/MiniDV/Panasonic_DVM63PQ.aspx

Description

Panasonic Mini DV, AY-DVM63PQ (Professional Quality)

Professional Mini DV tape from Panasonic, DVM63PQ, is developed using a new evaporation technology called Super Advanced Metal Evaporation. This is often called S-AME and greatly improves the mini dv magnetic density, often by 400%. Panasonic PQ Mini DV tape, 63PQ, is also available in professional master grade (MQ).


63 minute record/playback DV
42 minute record/playback DVCAM

Product Price QTY Line Total
DVM63PQ
Panasonic MiniDV
AY-DVM63PQ $3.53 50 $176.50

SUBTOTAL $176.50
SHIPPING 8.71
TAX 14.56
GRAND TOTAL $199.77

I found a sort of cheap retailer for the AY-DVM63PQ from Panasonic here in Germany. has anyone had any problems with his A1 with this sort of tapes? (HDV and DV)

i'd also be interested for any thoughts on the AY-DVM60YE and AY-DVM60FE tapes which are *much* cheaper^^

Thanks :))

For what it's worth, the past 8 years or so I've used nothing but the TDK's from costco - they always worked fine for DV, so I've continued using them for HDV with first the sony HC1 and now the XH-A1 and had no problems.

cool, got a bunch of TDKs here as well. Are you using the DVM or DVM Spectrum (which are better anyway? the tdk.de website praises them both to equal extent)

Interesting considering that the main owner of JVC the same company as owns Panasonic; i.e., Matsushita.

All MiniDV tape is Metal Evaporated. Most of the lower cost Hi8 tape was MP.

what about head cleaners? Should they also be the same brand? I use sony premium and sony hdv tapes should I get a sony head cleaner as well?

Tdk
 

I've always been using Sony tapes for 10 years now, never had any issue.

After the purchase of an A1, I thought 'why still Sony tapes', so started with TDK, because they're also easy to get in Europe. In almost every shop selling video stuff.

However, on one recent tape, I encountered drop outs. Ofcourse in shots where you didn't want it to be.

Disappointed and questioning the whole subject again, I decided to switch te Sony again, since the Panasonics discussed over here are hardly an option in Europe: noone seems to have them. Maybe in US, this is a different picture, even ordering them is a problem.

Maybe, after all is Sony (ev. JVC if they're the same) not a bad choice if you put availability & reliability in line.

Sure, it's costing more, but if you buy a full option Mercedes, you're not going to save money on the tyres either, taking the risk everything goes wrong?

I grabbed 50 Sony Premiums for $100 + shipping ($5)

I've used HDV Sony Master tapes ($10 per tape) and Standard Tapes ($2), shooting HDV I noticed 1-2 dropouts... out of 100+ tapes... Panasonic, TDK, Sony, JVC, Fuji-film... every brand... in one tape I dropped in the dirt there was 4-5 dropouts... I didn't notice any in the master tapes...

I don't think it makes a difference honestly, just stick with the same brand you start with...

ok, so either sony premium at ~1,96€ + VAT or the Panasonic Professional Grade for 2,99€ plus VAT. Thanks Guys :)

For folks who obsess about that sort of thing, it is of interest to note that the XL1 service manual (published in 1998) specified use of Panasonic MiniDV tape for part of the alignment process.

Dirk, you can also buy Panasonic tapes in Belgium fairly cheap:

http://www.fotokonijnenberg.be/produ..._product=24870

I have used the Canon HDV tape that came with the camera, and Panasonic PQ (5) and AMQ (5) tapes in my XH-A1. I had one or two drop-outs on the Canon tape and one of the PQ tapes - the picture and audio freezes for about a second. I have not had any problems with AMQ tapes.

A friend uses Sony Premium (i.e. the cheap ones) in his FX1, and gets through many more tapes than me. He typically sees one or two drop-outs on about 10% of his tapes. However, he has a couple of tapes where there is a drop-out every few minutes. This appears to be due to duff tapes, since the next one recorded plays back fine. I think this supports the theory that quality control is less good with the cheaper tapes.

I get my tapes from APR Media in Wellington, Somerset; very competitive prices and fast, efficient service.

Problem importing HDV shot to Mini Dv stock in FCP6
 

I just tried importing some footage my cameraman shot on one of our Canon XHA1's and ran into an error message.

He shot HDv 24f to regular mini dv stock instead of HDv stock. When I tried to log and capture the footage into FCP6, an error box popped up saying that there was no communication w/ the deck. "Note: This could be possible if HDv footage were shot to mini dv tape."


I tried changing the capture settings (trying a standard dv 23.98 setting)and was eventually able to do a capture now, but the footage had raster lines everywhere and looked horrible.

Does anyone have any idea how I might import this footage since decks don't recognize Canon's 24f codec?