DV tapes, obsolete by 2011

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wikahwoo

Yes, it is sad. Tears almost come in my eyes (almost) when I think about my first digital Hi-8 camera, and Stephen, my DVX.

The word is that some companies will stop making DV tapes next year. And as for all the rest, they will stop producing them in 2011.

So whether we like it or not, we are stuck with film and HD. But it really isn't as much of a downer as I'm making it sound like. I think I'll just have a bittersweet farewell (meanwhile, stocking up on MiniDV tapes at Costco).

The good thing, HD is much better to work with (recording onto hard-drives or cards). It keeps your clips organized, great resolution, and is much much friendlier for film transfer for theatrical than DV and HDV.

In the past year, I've worked a lot with the Sony EX, Panasonic HVX, and the RED ONE. Of course, I started in film so I do prefer film like every other film student snob. But in this world, film students need to be well-rounded and be ready for whatever camera is thrown at them. Thank goodness that film is still around and advancing year after year. And as for HD? No sweat. No piles of DV tapes to sort through, digitizing one by one, logging clip after clip through long mpeg files....

Anyways, so just something to think about if you're shopping for a digital camcorder.
 
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I think I just had a little party in my head.
But I just started to buy DV tapes now that I borrow a 4 year old camera from my church.

Though the SD cards and hard drives are quite nice. I borrowed someone elses camera that had that, and I had one that had SD cards but was crap.

But I never heard they was going to stop making DV tapes.
Only VHS. But I still see it on the shelves.


I do have my pros and cons about the tapes.
Though using the DV tapes in a Canon HDV camera and trying to rewind to record over something is impossible. It just sets it self back where it was.
 
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I'm freaking screwed my parents bought me a JVC GRDA30U and they're gonna end the format and I don't think my parents will buy me another camera! How am I supposed to keep making movies if that happens I'm not going to film over it.
 
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ComicStix said:
I'm freaking screwed my parents bought me a JVC GRDA30U and they're gonna end the format and I don't think my parents will buy me another camera! How am I supposed to keep making movies if that happens I'm not going to film over it.
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Read the whole thread. You are not freaking screwed. Mini DV will be in use
for the next 10 years. Maybe longer.
 
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Obsolete.
fewy. People say beta sp is obsolete but it's run through my suite every day.
Will DV fade away? I think we al know it will. Is there a 2011 deadline?
No.
 
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I'd never buy a hard drive camera under any circumstances. You'd have to shut production down to dump footage. With cards (SD or P2), you just pull the full card, stick an empty one in, take the full card to the guy manning the editing station to dump it. lathe, rinse, repeat.
 
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Gonzo,
I tried this idea on my wee little canon hfs100.. it was mounted on the tripod and thought, hey, let me pull the SDHC card and stick in a new one while this one converts..


Then I realized, that canon reintroduced a big stupid mistake.. my SD cam requires that I take it off the tripod to change the tape..guess what, the little door covering my SD card slot.. cant open unless I take the camera off the sticks.. ARGH.. Its just a little piece of plastic, probably headed for the trash bin!
 
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I guess I'm lucky, I can take my Dv tape out of my 930 while it stays on the pod. I think too many people still use Dv's for them to go out of style. Maybe as HD comes more accessable to those of us who can't afford a lot, maybe more phasing out. As much as I like the idea of no moving parts with a HDD, the tapes work well enough for me.

I still remember though using Dv tapes with a V-500- UGH! The thing chewed tapes like there was no tomorrow!

To say they're gone in 2011 seems a bit much....
 
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Even if they stop making dv tape (which I doubt) it does not make your camera obsolite. I still use the Canon XL2 as well as the xha1 cameras however I am not concered about the dv tape issue. I record to the AJA Kipro units. I can record dierectly to Apple 422 pro res. The other good feature is that when using the XL2 I can upconvert the resolution as well. I then plug the module into the compiter and load up in 422 pro res. If tape goes away I will still be using the same cameras. Also the cameras will last alot longer by bypassing the tape recording side of it. Technoligy is great!!!!
 
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sonnyboo said:
Actually, you will after 2-3 passes of a tape. It will start to "drop frames" and lose quality because it will break down.
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Is that because of the magnetic nature of the tapes? (I've always wondered that)/

I know I found some old (4 year old) tapes I did my school stuff on. When I played them they breaking down visually. Kind of sad really, was hoping to reuse them.

I think more people would look into HDD, if there was a way of "swapping" hard drives during a shoot. You can do it with SD cards, but there's a lot less memory per card compared to HDD :)

We have external drives, how much harder is it to make a "plug and play" HDD camera?
 
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NuclearHamster said:
ah, I did not know that, thanks. I guess there is no difference with that between HDV and DV tapes?
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Nope, fundamentallly still the same principal as an audio cassette or a VHS tape. It's a magnetic substance (ferric oxide on an audio cassstte tape, not sure about other tapes) bonded to the tape. Over time and trips across the record/playback head you start to lose the coating and gets holes. You can only record on them so many times. They start to degrade after the first use, and after a certain number of uses the degradation becomes noticeable.
 
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Tinalera said:
I think too many people still use Dv's for them to go out of style.
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Hey, well, 90% of the world was useing Windows XP till Windows 7 came along, and XP was doing just fine. Just saying :) The new generation go for whats hot on the selve, and because of this, the demand for DV tapes have reduced dramatically.
 
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The OP is wrong, they are still making DV tapes and the market still exists. They are still making Super 8mm film, you can get it from Kodak. Hell, I know of Network reality shows that still shoot on tape. Mini DV will be here for awhile.
 
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