Maintenance Tips

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Tape Usage For Time-lapse Applications

Recommended Tapes


Some video tape brands can have an adverse effect on the video heads.   This may lead to head clogging and premature video head wear.  The current recommended brands are:

    BASF        JVC
      FUJI        RCA      TDK

Preferred tapes from the above manufacturers are marked as REGULAR, STANDARD, or HIGH STANDARD grade.  Do not use HIGH GRADE tapes.  Determining the proper grade of tape can be confusing; if in doubt, choose the least expensive tape made by any of these recommended manufacturers.  High Grade tapes are not desirable for time-lapse applications, because the oxide coating on the tape is too abrasive.  If a brand other than the above has been used successfully for a long period of time, it is not necessary to change your brand of tape.  Extreme caution should be exercised in using an unknown, unproven tape.

Tape Usage

The number of passes per tape is important!  When the tape is recorded once from beginning to end, one pass has occurred.  We recommend thirty passes for recording speeds between two hours and 48 hours, and 10-20 passes for recording speeds above 48 hours. Recording in Pause Mode should be limited to 2 passes.

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