looking for thoughts on DV cassette tape life

[RWC_Zippy]

Here's what I do with my video camera:

I have 2 DV tapes that I cycle between. Fill one up - capture it to my HDD - make movies or archive for later processing - pop the new DV cassette in - start over again. (rinse, lather, repeat... :wink: )

I've been at it like this for over a year now and haven't ever had any issues which required my needing to buy a new tape. So, I am nuts to do it this way? Will the tape eventually 'wear out'. hmmm....

[Jason Dunn]

I've never read any "hard facts" on the issue, but most of the pros I've heard from say that a MiniDV tape shouldn't be used more than about six times - after that you may run into problems like audio drop out, lost signal, etc. Given how cheap MiniDV tapes are, unless you're doing a LOT of shooting, you're probably looking at replacing the tape once, maybe twice a year.

[RWC_Zippy]

Given how cheap MiniDV tapes are, unless you're doing a LOT of shooting, you're probably looking at replacing the tape once, maybe twice a year.

Yeah... I can afford to pony up the $20 for some new tapes :D

Thanks for the input!