The following actions are recommended to get the most quality from your recorded material and the least amount of dropouts.

Always record important events on new, high-quality videotape. Although the words "high grade" does not guarantee that the videotape is superior, with a little web-time and experimentation, you can settle on a brand and type of tape that works well for your camcorder and editing system. A cheap tape is more likely to clog heads and have lower quality (soft and bleeding colors) images.

Acclimate the tape before using (record or playback) them. They should be allowed to reach the same temperature as the camcorder or deck that plays or records them. A cold tape brought into a warm room, may collect condensation just like a glass filled with ice. Allow several hours in the package before opening. Always keep a tape as cool as possible. An overly warm tape is prone to streching when played or recorded causing permenant damage.

Handle tapes gently. Banging cassettes around can damage exposed edges, affecting your video, sound & tracking.

Pre-stripe the tape.
1. Works much better for batch capturing and ends in better, reduced stress editing.
2. This stripping tapes before the first use and "exercise" once every year or so by winding them to the end and rewinding them. This relaxes the tape, reducing stresses that build up during shipping & storage. Before playing a tape that hasn't been played for years, also wind it to the end and rewind it to the beginning before you play it; the relaxed tape is less likely to exhibit flaging and tracking problems.

Record important events at the standard play (SP) mode. Tapes recorded at the long play (LP) speed have their image degraded. Also, age causes slow-playing tapes to exhibit excessive flaging and mistracking. In addition, LP recorded tapes play poorly on equipment that isn't perfectly adjusted.

Clearly label the tape; you can place a blank label on the tape after it is pre-striped and ready to use. Always fill in the info area and flip the "No-record tab" as the tape comes out of the camcorder.

Proper storage; keep irreplaceable tapes protected in hard, plastic boxes, try to use the original boxes from the tape's maker. These will keep your Mini-DV cassettes relatively dust free, and safe from being crushed. For best results store (convert) both raw footage and masters to DVD disks as soon as practical.

The Flip side advice. It is only fair to say that most of what appears above is looked on by some as bad (outdated) advice. Some "experts" say never pre-stripe and never open a tape until just before use. Every pass wears on tape, exposes tape to dust and debries. That the nature of the small size of Mini-DV doesn't require "exercise" and camcorders do a great job of laying down timecode. They must not know Murphy as well as I do!

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