I need to buy some blank media and was wondering what brand I should go with. I'm leaning towards Sony or TDK. I do admit that I am a little confused about one point though:
Upon reading the manual that came with my Sony pcm-m1, it stated that unlike a conventional cassette player (which can be recorded on both sides), a DAT tape is only recorded on one side.
However, upon researching the Sony DT-120RA, it says: "120 minutes total recording time or 60 minutes per side"
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DT120RA&CategoryName=acc_RecordableMedia_AudioCassettes&DCMP=CNET_DF&HQS=HAA_DT120RA
(and not that I would buy from there as it is a bit pricey).
Can someone kindly tell me which is correct when recording on a DAT tape?
sony's wrong -- dat is only single sided (like a vcr tape). There are a LOT of opinions on what kinda tape to buy. Before switching to a jb3, I went through MANY cases of japanese maxell 60 meter dds data tapes. These work great and are a LOT cheaper than audio dat tapes. 60 meter dds tapes are the same length as 120 minute audio dat tapes.
Several online retailers sell these -- I bought mine from the oades.
I have found the most realiable DDS tapes are Fuji (Fujifilm), if you can still find them. Sony had some issues early last year with a batch of 60m DDS tapes. I'd stay away from them altogether.
The audio DATs are nice but as mentioned b4, quite pricey.
ANDY
Maxell HS-4's 60's or 90's.
SOny's -= ick!
Quote from: jhirte on September 20, 2004, 07:56:45 PM
Maxell HS-4's 60's or 90's.
SOny's -= ick!
what he said, except the sony part... i've had good luck with both maxells and sony's.
sorry. bad experiences with Sony. atleast 3 masters hosed because of them. my current d8 HATES them.... eats them on the first press of "play"!
nothing but maxell for me.
-Jim
Can I also ask now that it has been brought up, is audio DAT or DDS better in terms of the quality the recording would be?
Same tape, different tax...
I have had NO problems {so far} with the Japenese Maxell HS-4/90's over the last few years
I rarely use the 60 meter length because they cost very little less than the 90 meters {30 cents?}
these are DDS tapes and in MY opinion they are no different than audio grade - just cost alot less
I have had problems with Sony's in all my machines - even my D8 so I won't use them
my suggestion would be to try various tapes and see what is right for you and your machine{s}
Good luck! and have fun taping :D
dds vs. audio..
same tape.. different shell.. the audio shell's are a bit sturdier i have found.. I use either hhb, quantegy or sony 60's in my dap1.. only problems i ever had were with the maxell 90meters..
ymmv
Quote from: webericb on September 21, 2004, 10:09:45 AM
ymmv
More like, ym
Wv. If something works for you, keep using it. If it doesn't, change. This isn't like the old days of DAT when DIC and Maynard DATs were a surefire recipe for disaster - there are enough brands that are sufficiently reliable for Joe Taper to be able to choose from several of them without serious problems...
Thanks for all the responses. :) I ended up going with HHB as I read nothing but good things doing a search on those.
Cheers
btw, there is another difference no one bothered to mention- audio tapes are wound from one side, dds tapes are wound from the center. doesnt make a bit of difference, but just something ive been told time and time again