Different brand of tapes. at DVinfo.net

Tony Marino · January 28th, 2005, 10:43 PM

I have read about this and am still not sure I understand this correctly. I use sony in my GL-2 and my friend uses panasonic in his VX2000. I edit a couple of tapes I make every few months using the two camcorders and firewire. If I put the sony mini dv tape that was in his camcorder back in my GL-2 will that ruin the heads since the tapes are made with different material or lube?

I appreciate your help,
Tony

Jesse Bekas · January 28th, 2005, 11:32 PM

If you read enough you'll finally come to the realization that nobody knows for sure ;)

Hell, half the threads in this forum are about it, and none have a definitive answer.

For every tape swapping, head gunking sotry you hear, oyu'll have another person (like me) who swaps all the time without incident. I've never had to clean my heads in 3 years!

Bottom line is, no tape is going to ruin your heads. Get them a little dirty?...eh, it's possibility. But you've been doing it so far without a problem, right?

If they do get dirty (you see artifacting/blockiness/stutters), run a head-cleaning tape for 5 seconds, and go back to your old tape brand.

January 28th, 2005, 10:43 PM	#1
Tony Marino Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 55	Different brand of tapes. I have read about this and am still not sure I understand this correctly. I use sony in my GL-2 and my friend uses panasonic in his VX2000. I edit a couple of tapes I make every few months using the two camcorders and firewire. If I put the sony mini dv tape that was in his camcorder back in my GL-2 will that ruin the heads since the tapes are made with different material or lube? I appreciate your help, Tony

January 28th, 2005, 11:32 PM	#2
Jesse Bekas Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA Posts: 572	If you read enough you'll finally come to the realization that nobody knows for sure ;) Hell, half the threads in this forum are about it, and none have a definitive answer. For every tape swapping, head gunking sotry you hear, oyu'll have another person (like me) who swaps all the time without incident. I've never had to clean my heads in 3 years! Bottom line is, no tape is going to ruin your heads. Get them a little dirty?...eh, it's possibility. But you've been doing it so far without a problem, right? If they do get dirty (you see artifacting/blockiness/stutters), run a head-cleaning tape for 5 seconds, and go back to your old tape brand.