So I just bought some videos to record onto, and there were so many different kinds. Some quite expensive, some quite cheap.
Is there really much of a difference? How do the differences show, if so?
I ended up just buying a middle-value set of cassettes, not sure what to do. There were among this brand three kinds - one said “ideal for everyday recording,” one said “ideal for digital broadcast” and one said “ideal for video library.” I got the third since I am getting these tapes in order to archive some movies…
So, did it matter which choice I made? Or is it all a sham? Or what?
There is a difference and it lies in the bonding material. Lower end tapes (that is, tapes made by companies not normally associated with such stuff) are poorly made and droputs will appear almost immediately. Stick with the name brands (I prefer Maxell). As for the claims, I have been videotaping for nearly 18 years and have tried EVERY tape there is. In the early days, Scotch was the best, but they went out of the business. Now Maxell seems to have taken the lead. I have notcied no difference between the Gold and Silver, however.
The best I used costs $10 each. Their cases were heavy. Very heavy compared to the cheap ones. The dollar ones are okay but you throw them out after using them a few times if you want.
I tape a lot–A WHOLE LOT. A minimum of 4 hours per day. Sometimes as much as 12. I have about two dozen tapes that I tape and retape over and over and over, etc.
I’ve also purchased a wide variety of tapes, both in manufacturer and price range. If there’s any difference in picture quality, I can’t tell it. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, but I don’t see it. Same with sound quality. Trained ears might be able to tell the difference, but mine don’t.
But stamina–I can attest to that. T-120s and T-160s last forever, practically–regardless of price and manufacturer. I have tapes that are over five years old that I’ve been retaped innumerable times. I have a few tapes that are over 10 years old that are still going strong. Now, the T-180s and T-200s (my favorites, obviously), I wish I could say the same, but they just don’t last. Mine have averaged about two years (of repeated taping and viewing), and then they go bad. They’re also hard as hell to find.
OK, as I said, I know this won’t answer your question, but just wanted to add some food for thought. And, as always, YMMV.
I’m trying, I really am, but I just can’t seem to get any useful information out of this post.
Kris, you didn’t say what you were planning on doing with the tapes after recording on them. For time-shifting I’d just use the basic tapes from known tape manufacturers. Definitely avoid the generics or cheapie brands; decent brands are inexpensive enough. If you’re planning on saving something for archiving, you might consider the better quality stuff. The law of diminishing returns applies here - a $3.00 tape may look slightly better than a $1.50 tape; it certainly won’t look anywhere near twice as good.
As mentioned above, longer tapes (anything above T120) use thinner material. If you’re archiving, try to avoid those.
Frogstein, the OP said s/he was going to archive some movies.
So, if you plan on keeping them forever, buy the good quality tapes. But don’t spend too much, you could end up paying more for the blank tape than you could buy the movie used at your local video store (or even new, online).
For those that do time shifting, boy, Tivo is the way to go!
scotch probably killed themselves because their tapes lasted near forever , like razor blades that last forever
not in the planned obselence bussiness idea , still that skeleton used to scare the crap out of me as a kid
Consumer Reports evaluated VCR tapes a few years ago and they came to the same conclusion as Mjollnir and frogstein.
When I first bought a VCR, I used BASF tapes. When they disappeared, I switched to Sony. I now buy Sony T-120s at Walgreens for around $2, and I’ve never had a problem with them.