HD tapes for HDV cameras?

[vdschoor 0]

All,

I am running into issues with my HC-1, it has about 400 jumps on it now and it is skipping sometimes in the middle of the skydive.
I'd like to know if any of you have experienced this with any of the cameras?
It is not mounted in a D-box (for now at least) and I am wondering what the issue could be.

Someone mentioned to me that it is better to use the HD tapes with the HDV cameras.. any comments on this?

[DSE 5]

Changing tape types *may* change your result, but unlikely. The difference between the two types of tape is the metal particle layer. The AME II tape (for HDV) has a +4dB greater carrier signal (not to be confused with s/n) that improves upon errors. However, I'd be willing to bet money that your problem is more head clogging than tape.
How long since you've done a real cleaning on the head? Every 20-25 hours is a good practice for running a cleaning tape, and every 50 hours for a 'real' cleaning is recommended.

[vdschoor 0]

DSE,

thanks for the advice!
What is considered a "real cleaning" ? Sending it in or something, or cleaning it with alcohol? Any advice is very welcome, I've never done any other maintenance than running a cleaning tape through my cameras.

Thanks,
Iwan

[DSE 5]

FH Video in San Francisco is a place that could give the head a good wet cleaning. If you've never done it, your best bet is to have a pro show you how.
Alcohol on a non-fiber system works fine, but there is more to it than just sticking a pad into the tape housing and scrubbing.
You might also just try a dry cleaning cassette first, see if that takes care of your problem.

[yuri_base 1]

Yo,

After using HC-1 for 2 years, I see no discernible difference between regular Sony Premium $2.50 tapes and $10-13 HDV tapes. Skips do occur, once per 1 or 2 tapes.

So, don't waste your money on expensive tapes!

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[DSE 5]

You won't *ever* see a difference in tape when dealing with digital formats.
The difference is "insurance." Dropouts are less likely with AMEII tape.
Anyone who tells you that various tape formats for digital media will provide a better or worse picture is either a jester or a fool. It's digital. 1's and 0's. Either they're there or they're not, but higher grade tape provides a deeper storage quality on the tape, and allows for greater penetration of the oxide, but that does not translate to better image, merely a more stable/safe one.
Consider it the same as differences between HDD qualities. There are crappy, slow 2100 rpm drives, and there are high-grade 15,000 rpm drives, and both have different error-correction and recovery qualities.

[yuri_base 1]

I meant the frequency of dropouts when I was talking about differences between tapes. $8-10 difference in price per tape to marginally reduce the occurrence of dropouts is not worth it.

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[DSE 5]

Quote

I meant the frequency of dropouts when I was talking about differences between tapes. $8-10 difference in price per tape to marginally reduce the occurrence of dropouts is not worth it.

I'd suggest it depends on your perspective.
A 10% reduction in the risk of a dropout is fairly significant to me, and for anything important, I'd pay 10 times that amount to reduce dropout. I guess it's just dependent on what you value. For day to day tandems, I agree; the extra 6$ per tape probably isn't worth the expense. If you're shooting a competition, television spot, that "once in a lifetime" wedding/engagement/50 year bigway shot...the additional cost is worth it to me. I keep around 30 high grade tapes in my locker at the DZ and a dozen AMEII grade tapes.