fred@mot.UUCP (Fred Christiansen) (01/04/85)
[]
Several folk pointed me to this article in response to my query:
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Resume of November 1984's Consumer Reports on VHS tapes:
- don't buy off-brands, these are substandard
- high grade name brands are not necessarily better than standard name brands
- tapes marked "stereo" or "hi-fi" are not necessary to record stereo or hi-fi
- hi-fi VCRs record differently from mono or stereo VCRs (diagonal vs. edge)
- keep tapes away from magnetic fields (e.g., stereo speakers)
- store tapes on end, not flat, to prevent sagging
- suspect dirty VCR heads only if sudden noise level increase for all tapes
- brand name head cleaner tapes are OK, but stick to manufacturers' directions
- ranking:
1. Scotch, 2. Scotch HGX, 3. BASF HG, 4. TDK EHG, 5. BASF, 6. Konica,
7. Maxell HGX Gold, 8. Minolta, 9. RCA, 10. Sony, 11. Polaroid, 12. Fuji,
13. JVC, 14. Kodak, 15. Maxell, 16. Panasonic, 17. TDK,
18. Quasar, 19. SKC, 20. Memorex, 21. Radio Shack,
22. PD Magnetics HG
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(surprised to see BASF ranked that well as several folk have reported problems;
surprised to see Memorex rated that low)
Is there anything similar for Beta tapes? Am interested as I use both in
church's deaf ministries for kids.
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Fred Christiansen, Motorola Microsystems, 2900 S Diablo Way, Tempe, AZ 85282
{allegra,ihnp4}!sftig!mot!fred {ihnp4,seismo}!ut-sally!oakhill!mot!fred
{ihnp4,amdahl}!drivax!mot!fred arizona!asuvax!mot!fredron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (01/05/85)
> surprised to see Memorex rated that low) > Surprised to see Memorex rated low, I'm not. I had the misfortune to record on that crap. It's a waste to have something you want ruined that way. It came out black and white. Never had any other brand of tape do that (I use TDK primarly but there are a few Sonys and other brands thrown in there). -Ron
lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (01/07/85)
I buy only SONY Beta tapes -- usually L-500 for recording at Beta II when I plan to keep the material around for an indefinite period. I have had extremely variable results with other brands. --Lauren--
ecl@ahuta.UUCP (e.leeper) (01/07/85)
REFERENCES: <67@mot.UUCP>, <7017@brl-tgr.ARPA> > Surprised to see Memorex rated low, I'm not. I had the misfortune > to record on that crap. It's a waste to have something you want > ruined that way. It came out black and white. Never had any other > brand of tape do that (I use TDK primarly but there are a few Sonys > and other brands thrown in there). It sounds like the problem was not the tape, but the tuner--I have also had this problem when recording distant stations (pre-cable). I would tune it and adjust the antenna (rabbit ears!) for best reception, then set the timer and go away. When the timer turned on, either the adjustment had shifted slightly or the fact that my body was not present to act as additional antenna (anyone who has ever had rabbit ears knows what I mean) made a difference and the picture either didn't come in at all or came in as black-and-white. Evelyn C. Leeper ...{ihnp4, houxm, hocsj}!ahuta!ecl
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (01/09/85)
> REFERENCES: <67@mot.UUCP>, <7017@brl-tgr.ARPA> > > > Surprised to see Memorex rated low, I'm not. I had the misfortune > > to record on that crap. It's a waste to have something you want > > ruined that way. It came out black and white. Never had any other > > brand of tape do that (I use TDK primarly but there are a few Sonys > > and other brands thrown in there). > > It sounds like the problem was not the tape, but the tuner--I have also had > this problem when recording distant stations (pre-cable). I would tune it and > adjust the antenna (rabbit ears!) for best reception, then set the timer and go > away. When the timer turned on, either the adjustment had shifted slightly or > the fact that my body was not present to act as additional antenna (anyone who > has ever had rabbit ears knows what I mean) made a difference and the picture > either didn't come in at all or came in as black-and-white. > > Evelyn C. Leeper > ...{ihnp4, houxm, hocsj}!ahuta!ecl It was certainly not the tuner. I almost exclusively watch through the VCR tuner when I am recording, and I was watching the show at the same time as I was taping it. -Ron