Posted by Mr. Tapeguy on 05/08/06 13:54

> > > He has posted since being asked to supply data but alas has failed to
> > > deliver the aforementioned.
> > >
> > > Check out these data I've been able to locate:
> > >
> > > Brand Coercivity Retentivity
> > > Fuji 120kA/m 450mT
> > > Pana PQ 120kA/m 450mT
> > > Maxell DVME60 120kA/m 450mT
> > > Sony PR/EX 105kA/m 500mT
> > > Sony HDV 125kA/m 550mT
> > > Pana MQ 120kA/m 500mT
> > > Sony DVCAM 105kA/m 500mT
> > >
> > > My understanding is that retentivity is the more important figure.

According to whom? What about signal-to-noise, carrier-to-noise,
dropout and the "intangibles" ? According ot your info, there is NO
reason to buy EX vs. PR. That's because some of the critical
information isn't contained in the specficiations.


> Well it would help if you had data to back up you claims instead of
> re-publishing Panasonic marketing BS. That's why you end up in a debate
> because your claims don't hold up to inspection.

What inspection is that? Nothing has been shown to prove otherwise,
least of all real-world use. Most of the newsgroup questions I deal
ask for people's experience with usage. I would think you would be
aware that specifications aren't everything. For starters, who do you
think writes them? If you think Panasonic's marketing BS is, well "BS"
then perhaps you'd better research who writes specifications for
Panasonic tape...which is why I rely only partially on any of that
information and more on what feedback from in-house use and customer
feedback. The best use of manufacturer's published specs is in
relating one of their own tapes to another. I don't want to get into
the insulting accusations that you seem to feel the need to throw but I
really think you can't see the forest for the trees here, and
especially since you seem to feel that any specification that is
published is better than one that isn't. Dropout is probably the
single most highly critical factor in recording and in the old days
spec sheets routinely had the tapes' average dropout specification
listed. Here it is conspicuosly absent.

Head life is also something we should all be concerned about and every
tech I've dealt with along with various websites has found Panasonic to
be less abrasive. That can be thousands of dollars of savings along
the way. I realize there is a tech referenced in this exchange who
feels differently.

> I am genuinely interested to see if there is a significant difference
> between brands and grades within the brands. But I've got to see some hard
> facts or some serious problems with the tapes I use before I change my
> buying habbits.

The best way to determine that is not a spec sheet but the experience
of people who use them, yourself included. I tell people every day, it
doesn't matter to me what you buy. I recommend what works best based
on our experience and customer feedback, along with being aware of what
the manufacturers publish about their products.

> On the data I found by googling and my own experiences it seems a fool's
> game to overly worry about the media one is recording to. It would seems
> how one treats that media is far more important. In my professional
> experience.
>
> I just entered "brand name" and "tape name" coercivity and retentivity into
> google and cross referenced what I could. Sorry I neglected to post the
> reference URLs.

No need - this stuff is commonly available. And I agree with your
first point.
>
> > I don't make my living selling just tape and unlike the old days, spec
> > sheets are not routinely provided for everything. I'm glad you were
> > able to find some data though, even though those statistics don't tell
> > the whole story. Nowhere is dropout mentioned (arguably the most
> > critical spec) nor anything about the components, which is nearly
> > impossible to document.
> >
> I think there are far too many variables to make it worth worrying about.
> Treat your tapes and camera with respect and you won't go far wrong.

Agreed; however if you want to take no chances, particularly on
something that can't be shot again, the higher grade tapes do offer
much lower dropout and have better mechanisms, besides being more
carefully selected. I don't think it matters for routine stuff. For
shoots that can't be redone and "mission critical" I think they are the
way to go particularly when the prices are comparable; i.e. Sony PR vs.
Panasonic PQ or Sony EX vs. Panasonic MQ.

Craig

http://www.pro-tape.com

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