tape and picture quality
 

I have been using Panasonic ME-DVM60 tape and am concerned that I may be using the wrong tape. I'm not concerned with price if the more expensive tapes deliver a superior quality picture. Do they? And what IS the difference between a $3.00 tape and a $6-$10 tape? I have an Optura Xi and shoot almost exclusively outdoors.
Thanks in advance for any info. you can impart.

It is impossible for a digital recording to be 'better' because of the tape it is recorded on. You can record a digital signal on paper ... and get exactly the same signal. Digital recordings are either 'perfect' or they fail -- so any advantage in tape or storage is only a reduced chance of drop-outs ... a real concern, surely, but in practice over many years the DV25 format has demonstrated itself to be pretty resistant to drop outs. HDV promises to be more demanding in one sense -- the 15 frame GOP -- but no different in others -- data rate.

But anyone who ever claims that a tape delivers a better image ... doesn't understand digital binary bit files!

GB