Posted by Mr. Tapeguy on 12/26/05 17:45

Richard Crowley wrote:
....
>
> "Mr.Tapeguy" may very well be a nice guy and an honorable
> vendor. However, the information seems remarkably similar
> to the kind of sales "propaganda" provided by the vendors of
> the tape brands he sells. Vendor information may sometimes
> be "optimized" to make the writer's products seem more
> desirable than the competition's. :-)

I understand where you're coming from Richard. Keep in mind that I
myself was a video producer and one of my degrees is in Radio-TV-Film.
I do take the information the manufacturers give me but I also have to
draw my own conclusions and draw from the practical experience of our
customers and our staff, who do both sales and rental.
>

>
> Our practice is to record on camera tapes ONCE and then
> to catalog and archive the tapes because the content is worth
> far more than the cost of the tape. Perhaps those who reuse
> their tapes over and over may need the higher-grade tapes
> to avoid dropouts the 5th or 10th time the tape is re-used?

You are correct here. People have sometimes asked since digital is
digital, what difference does it make what kind of tape you use?
Unlike analog, the difference is far less likely to be noticed in the
first generation. If you shoot and playback only once, you are less
likely to have a problem than with reuse. That is not to say you are
not better off using a higher grade tape. They are more resistant to
humidity, dust and physical abuse. The error correction in today's
gear is really quite amazing and covers up for a lot of tape
abnormalities. Still, unless the specs are falsified (and heck, you
can't even get them for consumer tape) I still opt for a higher grade
tape on critical applications and it sounds as though you do to.
>
> Mr. Tapeguy's prices for at least DVCAM tapes look pretty
> good and I may switch to using him, since my local source
> is sometimes flaky and difficult to deal with. But when he
> makes statements like an Apple computer is preferable for
> "serious" video editing, it may be worth considering that he
> is an Apple dealer. It is good to see people who are enthusiastic
> about their business and their products, but we must all weigh
> information against our own requirements and experience
> with our own equipment and circumstances.

First of all, we are also dealers for Pinnacle (now Avid), Avid, Sony
Vegas and other PC-based programs as well as Casablanca. All of them
work pretty well and frankly, I will sell someone any system they
choose. We recommend Apple because of the stability of the OS, lack of
peripheral and IT issues such as viruses and spyware, bang-for-the buck
and their rapidly expanding market share which finds many post houses
including large prominent ones with healthy budgets replacing their old
Avids with FCS workstations. All of the non-linear options including
Canopus and Media 100 have some nice features and usually a couple that
are exclusive and I would say that for certain higher-end applications
and media management Avid still has a slight edge over Apple but we're
talking about very high-end use in larger facilities and spending 2 or
3 times the price to get it and with XSAN, Apple is catching up quickly
and for a lot less money.

I agree with you wholeheartedly that each individual should weigh his
options before making a decision. I do have a bias toward Apple but it
is based on my experience with what people in the industry are doing
and why because frankly, I don't care what people use if they are
successful and happy with it.

cb

[Back to original message]