Topic: minidvd camcorder recommendations/worth spending extra $$$ vs. minidv?

[BayTaynt3d]

You might have to order them from B&H or someplace, as they aren't usually in your typical Walgreens or CompUSA. 

[BuddyGoodness]

When a company sells different versions of a minidv tape is the supposed higher quality the ascribe to the more expensive tapes really better or is that just a gimmick?

Examples:
Panasonic AY-DVM80EJ 80 Minutes Mini DV Video Cassette
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=163781&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Panasonic AY-DVM80XJ 80 Minutes Mini DV Professional Video Cassette
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=200407&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Panasonic AY-DVM83MQ 83 Minutes Mini DV Master Quality Video Cassette
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=240000&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Panasonic AY-DVM83PQ 83 Minutes Mini DV Professional Quality Video Cassette
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=239895&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Though here the higher quality ones are the same price but I am sure they would be more and more the more professional sounding they got at a place like best buy.

[BayTaynt3d]

It kind of half-gimmick and half not...

As long as those 1's and 0' get recorded to the tape, irrespective of what kind of tape, and as long os those bits can be transferred to your computer, a tape is a tape is a tape -- nothing too special. No matter how high grade it is, it's just recording the same bits of ditigal data.

HOWEVER, where the premium part comes into play is with the robustness and longevity of the tape. Some tapes last A LOT longer than others. Some tapes can be re-recorded over many, many times before needing to be retired -- other tapes can't last but a few cycles before showing digital dropouts/noise.

I think there is more to it than that, but gives you the basic feel for the difference in price.

[BuddyGoodness]

so if you are only recording one show and then shelving the tape after transfering it to the comp, get the cheap ones.

[BayTaynt3d]

so if you are only recording one show and then shelving the tape after transfering it to the comp, get the cheap ones.

True. But remember, those tapes are essentially your "masters," and one 60 minute tape holds 13+ gigs of video and audio at SP, so I pretty much never reuse tapes and keep them as my raw masters/backups. In fact, if you've got clean timecode (no breaks), and you save your capture file and your original tape, you can always go back and recapture a tape sometime in the future -- which can be a godsend depending on the size project you are working on. Anyway, just a few more thoughts...

[BuddyGoodness]

good point, I think I will just start buying 80min tapes, most smaller bands don't play past that.