co@cbscc.UUCP (Corinna Owens) (01/11/85)
I threw out a Scotch cassette yesterday. I record on the tape at least 5 days a week for 1 hour (hopelessly hooked on soaps). I've had the tape for nearly a year now. I am wondering if I got the normal life expectancy out of the tape based on my usage. Also, what brand of tapes are most suitable for my usage? Corinna Owens ... cbosgd!cbscc!co
kae@ihuxl.UUCP (alan) (01/12/85)
I'm still recording on my Panasonic VHS 60 minute tape that I
got with my recorder in June/July 1983. I have been using SLP
and recording 5 days per week 1 hour per day (except holidays)!
This way I can get 3 days of recording on a tape BRW "Before Re-
Wind" (may help tape wear--Not to mention it's also faster to
zap commercials when using SLP).
What I wonder is: How did you tell that the tape was shot? I
still get a good picture from my tape so I still use it.
--
-Alan Edwards IX 1C-423 x0879 (ihuxl!kae)kevin@voder.UUCP (The Last Bugfighter) (01/15/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
Seems to me that the only way a tape could wear out would be if the
oxide coating starts to flake off from too many loadings/unloadings or
just from a lot of use. Of course if it's a cheap tape to begin with...
I would think the first thing you would notice would be white streaks
across the screen (dropouts) caused by the lack of video information on
the tape at those places the oxides getting to thin. If the oxide is
really thin or flakes off you can't use the tape at all as the end-of-
tape light will shine through and trigger the end-of-tape sensor.
--
Kevin Thompson {ucbvax,ihnp4!nsc}!voder!kevin
"It's sort of a threat, you see. I've never been very good at them
myself but I'm told they can be very effective."ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (01/17/85)
> > Seems to me that the only way a tape could wear out would be if the > oxide coating starts to flake off from too many loadings/unloadings or > just from a lot of use. Of course if it's a cheap tape to begin with... > Of course, the recorded information may degrade before the tape physically does. Maybe the little magnetic paricles loose they're mobility. Maybe it rusts (oops, I guess it can't, it's already rusted). -Ron
doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (01/17/85)
> Seems to me that the only way a tape could wear out would be if the > oxide coating starts to flake off from too many loadings/unloadings or > just from a lot of use. The mechanism can wear out too. -- Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug
lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (01/20/85)
One of the factors the affects the life of already recorded materials is the slow speed of the consumer machines combined with mechanical tape tension. The tension, made even worse sometimes by normal temperature fluctuations, causes the tape to stretch over time. Since the tape speed is so low, this warps the timing track, and the result is glitchy video. VHS is worse than BETA in this respect, since the VHS system inherently puts more tension on the tape due to its "double-U" tape path. --Lauren--
keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) (01/22/85)
[]
Speaking of Video tape life, does anyone know what the shelf life
of prerecorded tapes is like? I've heard that you should store them
so the reels are vertical, as otherwise, pressure of the tape against
the reel will cause the tape edges to curl, eventually impacting the
recorded material. Are there any 'print-through' type effects with
video tapes? I'd like to know how long my movies are going to last.
Keith Doyle
{ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd
"You'll PAY to know what you REALLY think!"