Is mini-DVD tape the best media for a digital video camera?

I’m wondering if there are any dropouts or artifacts with a mini disc storage system. I’ve never used one and am wondering if it’s worth making the investment. I have a Sony 3-chip digital record camera now, and it seems that if I really want to keep some record footage, I had better place it on a DVD before the tape gets too ancient and the record degrades.
Can I get a tie breaker here please?

Answer by IG64
mini-dv tape is the best choice… it has the least amount of compression so it gives you the most record data to work with.

And don’t assume that a DVD will last forever. The DVD -R and +R don’t last forever. The inks are not perfectly stable and they can become coaster in a matter of years in the incorrect situation. The best method of keeping your footage is to place it on two hard drives and then make back-ups every 4 to 5 years. The sad business is nothing digital lasts forever, but the hard drives are probably the most durable business consumer wise…. also avoid the larger hard drives, the smaller ones 160GB and less pack data less densely and therefore will be less prone to attractive leakage between data resulting in data loss.

To clarify…. I assume when you say Mini-DVD Tape that you are talking about the MiniDV tapes… longevity of mediums would be as follows.

hard drive
tape
DVD

A hard drive will likely last longer than a tape as long as you don’t have the hard drive running all the time… A hard drive has a life of maybe 10 years under normal non-continuous life… if you didn’t turn it on unless you were going to access the data and only did so on rare occasions then the hard drive might last 20 years or longer…. most likely the electronics in the hard drive would die long before the attractive data on the platters vanished so even after the drive crapped out you may maybe probably have the data pulled.

A tape on the additional hand will start degrading as soon as you record your image. It wont be noticeable for several years but it is happening, just go find an ancient VHS movie from 10 years ago and watch it, you’ll see the color are starting to wash out and that is because the strength of the attractive data on the tape is deteriorating, in a miniDV you wont have the color wash out instead because the image is digital you will have more error creep into the footage and ultimately the error correction of the gear will be at a loss and you’ll see blocks randomly appear, beyond that you’ll just get a blue screen of nothing in random points.

The DVD -R +R and Mini DVDs rely on special inks, they might last 10 or 20 years if you keep them in a temperature and humidity controlled environment…. but I have seen them become coaster in a years time. And the conundrum you have is the quality control of the factories making them is not that fantastic and down right terrible in some places… making it worse some brand name DVDs are made at the same terrible factories so even if you stick with what you reckon is a excellent brand there is no guarantee it isn’t really from the cheapo factory…. And don’t confuse the DVD’s you burn with the ones that are bought with movies already on them, the two are not the same. The one you burn isn’t really putting any pits on a metal plate like the Hollywood version its just using a special ink that isn’t anywhere near as stable as a attractive field on a tape or hard drive platter.

Answer by suliman
Not at all! Don’t listen to the above poster. Mini-DVD is crap. You want to use any MiniDV or, if at all possible, something with a hard drive that is solid-state. Mini-DVD has tons of problems that I am not going into, but just trust me on this one.

Answer by iridflare
I’m not sure this is going to be a tie breaker, but I’ll try and clarify things (a bit).

First off there’s no such business as “mini-DVD tape” – you can have a mini-DVD (a small disk) or MiniDV (which uses tape).

I’m assuming that the first poster assumed you meant MiniDV, and has agreed a excellent answer. I’m further assuming that the second poster assumed that the first poster was talking about mini-DVD, so that answer was also excellent ?!?!

Bottom line:-
MiniDV = Excellent
mini-DVD = Terrible

Regarding archiving, tape is probably still the best option. It’s a robust and simple standard that can be kept for a long time with only minimal maintenance. Even if you have problems they’re likely to result in degradation rather than a catastrophic stoppage. Hard drives are only cost effective in the larger capacities, they’re much more complex and hence inherently less reliable, and you’re putting all your eggs in one basket – a head crash or a jammed bearing may maybe cost you a lot.

If you need clarification of the clarification, PM me

Answer by tyler durden Oƒƒicial
I’m not sure this is going to be a tie breaker, but I’ll try and clarify things (a bit).

First off there’s no such business as “mini-DVD tape” – you can have a mini-DVD (a small disk) or MiniDV (which uses tape).

I’m assuming that the first poster assumed you meant MiniDV, and has agreed a excellent answer. I’m further assuming that the second poster assumed that the first poster was talking about mini-DVD, so that answer was also excellent ?!?!

And the third poster was incorrect too.

8 track is the answer you’re looking for.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Flip record


Image by Fonzie’s cousin

I have a JVC digital record camera– what type of cassette tapes do i need? Anything in particular?

Also, how much do these run for?

Thanks!
Its a JVC digital record camera but as far as i know it DOES need tapes.

its a GR-D870

Answer by mitch b
What model of camera are you using? They all use different media – generally a “digital” will really use a harddrive recorder so you don’t need tapes at all…can you please edit your question and post what model camera you’re using?

ADD——————–
Per Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DVC-60-Premium-Minidv-Video/dp/B0009HGVZW/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b

Answer by Peter H
It uses MiniDV digital record tapes, running for 60 minutes in standard mode

Answer by lare
it uses miniDV tape, sometimes these tapes are marked DVC for digital record cassette, but it is the same business. available everywhere, from the corner drugstore to Walmart. Not expensive $ 2 – $ 5.

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