What is the "best" Hi8 tape(s)?
John H. Chauvin
I recently purchased a Sony CCD-TR101 Hi8 camcorder and went to my
local electronics store to buy my first Hi8 tape. What I thought
would be a straight forward task turned out to be an adventure. The
salesmen informs me that "Metal Evaporated tapes give the best
quality but you do not want to buy them. The tapes are prone to
developing gigantic dropouts". So I said, "What about this Sony
Metal Particle tape?". He says,"You do not want to buy that tape
either, it has fewer glitches but has a fair number of traditional
dropouts." By this time I am wondering whether I made a mistake in
buying a Hi8 camcorder. So I said, "What tape should I buy?" His
reply was any tape made by Fuji which uses the new MPDC (Double
Coat) tape. Of course, he was fresh out of Fuji tapes.
So what Hi8 tapes would you recommend? Which tape gives the
best resolution? Which tape gives the most accurate colors?
Since all camcorders have trouble with contrasts, does one brand
or type of tape record a higher level of contrast than another?
I believe that Hi8 tapes are available from the following companies
(1) Sony (2) Fuji (3) JVC (4) Maxell. Any others?
Thanks for the advice,
John Chauvin
Cerritos, California
--
John H. Chauvin jcha...@netcom.COM
Netcom - Online Communication Services San Jose, CA
David Bittner
: I believe that Hi8 tapes are available from the following companies
: (1) Sony (2) Fuji (3) JVC (4) Maxell. Any others?
Fuji M221E tapes are by far the *best* Hi8 tapes EVER PRODUCED ON THIS OR
ANY OTHER PLANET. :-)
But seriously, folks, they are far better than anything out there. Next
best are the standard MP Fuji tapes. After that I would go with Sony.
I bought a Maxell Hi8 tape once.....once. It was the worst ever, although
it did have a pretty cool tape case - looked right out of Star Trek - TNG.
So, go with the Fujis. You'll be impressed.
********************************************************
* David Bittner * Hi8 / Beta SP *
* Bittner Video Services * Video Machine / Steadicam *
* (410) 964-9735 * bit...@clark.net *
********************************************************
jim ospenson
: John H. Chauvin (jcha...@netcom.com) wrote:
: : I believe that Hi8 tapes are available from the following companies
: : (1) Sony (2) Fuji (3) JVC (4) Maxell. Any others?
: Fuji M221E tapes are by far the *best* Hi8 tapes EVER PRODUCED ON THIS OR
: ANY OTHER PLANET. :-)
personally, i prefer sony HMPX Hi8 tapes in either 30 or 60 minute lengths.
in my opinion the 12o minute tapes are themselves more prone to
dropout (magnetic oxide flaking off, causing 'holes' in the video picture)
because of the longer, and hence thinner plastic tape base (to which
the mag particles adhere). So my gut feeling is that shorter tapes
will show fewer dropouts. Obviously you should limit the number
of times you play your camera original, and especially jog/shuttling
on the narrow Hi8 tape.
The shorter tapes are also easier to deal with when you have an edit
and need to be finding shots that are widely dispersed. These are
professional tapes, available mainly through mail order or other pro
supply houses, and run 9-12 dollars each in boxes of 10. I will
go to almost any lengths to avoid buying a single tape at some
electronics store, since they are much more expensive.
Look in the back pages of most video mags...
the Sony HMPX's also come in a nice dustfree album, with plenty of
space for notes.
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Goldberg
>personally, i prefer sony HMPX Hi8 tapes in either 30 or 60 minute lengths.
>in my opinion the 12o minute tapes are themselves more prone to
>dropout (magnetic oxide flaking off, causing 'holes' in the video picture)
>because of the longer, and hence thinner plastic tape base (to which
>the mag particles adhere). So my gut feeling is that shorter tapes
>will show fewer dropouts. Obviously you should limit the number
>of times you play your camera original, and especially jog/shuttling
>on the narrow Hi8 tape.
I bought a few rolls of the HMPX - albeit in the 120 size - for pro
uses instead of my usual Fuji HMP Double Coated (family use). Know
what? The Fuji worked better, despite its cost to me of just over $7
peer roll.
/|/| /||)|/ /~ /\| |\|)[~|)/~ | Everyone's entitled to MY opinion.
/ | |/ ||\|\ \_|\/|_|/|)[_|\\_| | gold...@oasys.dt.navy.mil
========Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein=======
George Goble
>In rec.video.production, os...@astro.ocis.temple.edu (jim ospenson) writes:
>>personally, i prefer sony HMPX Hi8 tapes in either 30 or 60 minute lengths.
>>in my opinion the 12o minute tapes are themselves more prone to
>>dropout (magnetic oxide flaking off, causing 'holes' in the video picture)
>>because of the longer, and hence thinner plastic tape base (to which
>>the mag particles adhere). So my gut feeling is that shorter tapes
>>will show fewer dropouts. Obviously you should limit the number
>>of times you play your camera original, and especially jog/shuttling
>>on the narrow Hi8 tape.
>
>I bought a few rolls of the HMPX - albeit in the 120 size - for pro
>uses instead of my usual Fuji HMP Double Coated (family use). Know
>what? The Fuji worked better, despite its cost to me of just over $7
>peer roll.
>
>
Even the lowest grade of Fuji Hi8 tapes.. works better and with
MUCH LESS dropouts and has better performance than the BEST
SONY "pro" P6-120HMPX/2 or E6-120HMEX (MP or ME) tapes...
The M221E is the best of the bunch of the Fuji..
--ghg
David Bittner
: Even the lowest grade of Fuji Hi8 tapes.. works better and with
: MUCH LESS dropouts and has better performance than the BEST
: SONY "pro" P6-120HMPX/2 or E6-120HMEX (MP or ME) tapes...
: The M221E is the best of the bunch of the Fuji..
For those of you who are interested in exactly *why* the Fuji tapes
are so darn good, there is an excellent article in this months
"Broadcast Engineering" magazine, discussing super-double-coating
tape technology. It is written by one of the Fuji engineers, and
is very informative.
* David Bittner * Hi8/BetaSP Production *
** Bittner Video Services * Steadicam / Video Machine **
Remek Andrew Lipinski
:For those of you who are interested in exactly *why* the Fuji tapes
:are so darn good, there is an excellent article in this months
:"Broadcast Engineering" magazine, discussing super-double-coating
:tape technology. It is written by one of the Fuji engineers, and
:is very informative.
Would this also include the performance of Fuji S-VHS tapes? I have been using them
for a while now and think that they give better performance than the TDK S-VHS
tapes which is the only other brand I tried is S-VHS.
Kyler Laird
>>personally, i prefer sony HMPX Hi8 tapes in either 30 or 60 minute lengths.
>>in my opinion the 12o minute tapes are themselves more prone to
>>dropout (magnetic oxide flaking off, causing 'holes' in the video picture)
>>because of the longer, and hence thinner plastic tape base (to which
>>the mag particles adhere).
What length uses the thickest tape in Hi8? In VHS (according to Videomaker),
it's 120 minute.
--kyler
David Bittner
:
: Would this also include the performance of Fuji S-VHS tapes? I have been using them
: for a while now and think that they give better performance than the TDK S-VHS
: tapes which is the only other brand I tried is S-VHS.
Yep, it covers all of the tapes using double coating technology. I
would post the article here, but I imagine that is a big copywrite
no-no.
William Kucharski
r...@mlb.dmt.csiro.au said the following:
>Would this also include the performance of Fuji S-VHS tapes? I have been using >them for a while now and think that they give better performance than the TDK
>S-VHS tapes which is the only other brand I tried is S-VHS.
In my experience, SVHS tapes seem to rank out as:
1) Fuji
2) Maxell/TDK
3) Sony
4) 3M "BlackWatch"
The absolute best pictures I've seen are from the Fuji tape, while the Sony and
3M tapes look at times like regular VHS or worse...
--
| William Kucharski, Solbourne Computer, Inc. | Opinions expressed herein
| Internet: kuch...@solbourne.com Ham: N0OKQ | are MINE alone, NOT those
| Snail Mail: 1900 Pike Road, Longmont, CO 80501 | of Solbourne Computer, Inc.
| President, "Just the Ten of Us" Fan Club | Congrats, VA, NJ and NYC!!
Eric Elvira
The Fuji SVHS ST-PRO won last year's Video Magazine best tape issue. I use them
for masters and they work out very well.
For great prices you can check:
Adorama 1-800-223-2500 in NY
Fuji Super VHS Pro ST-120 $6.99
Fuji Hi8 P6-120MP Double Coated $6.09
In 10-packs only
I haven't heard of anywhere cheaper than this.
Someone recommended them (Adorama) some time ago.
Eric
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The ASK Group, Ingres
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Internet: elv...@ingres.com
Luis Abdon Cifuentes
by George Go...@noose.ecn.p
> Even the lowest grade of Fuji Hi8 tapes.. works better and with
> MUCH LESS dropouts and has better performance than the BEST
> SONY "pro" P6-120HMPX/2 or E6-120HMEX (MP or ME) tapes...
> The M221E is the best of the bunch of the Fuji..
>
I tried the fuji tape on my nikon VN720 (TR200 clone) and I got a lot of
dropouts (horizontal lines across the screen)...one every 20 seconds or
so.
Is this normal? should I send the camcorder for repairs?
Luis
PS: actually, I have the same problems with Maxell tapes too!.