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So I am up in Syracuse NY doing a record and I am yet again stuck doing a record on ADATs heres the thing. There is no place to get ADATs in Syracuse so I bought some Super VHS tapes @ Best Buy. The guy has XT 20s and the Super VHSs seemed to format fine, what I am wondering is do these tapes work well as ADAT Tapes.

Comments

pan Tue, 12/04/2001 - 15:01

We still use some Blackface ADATs with different Tape Brands - all of them start to have Errors (LCD-Point in the Display is flashing from time to time) after excessive use (even the Emtecs). One thing though:

avoid long Tape, cause it's to thin...we use maximum 120 mins Video/ 40 mins on ADAT.

And always wind the Tape to the End once before formatting...

AND stay away from TDK !!!!!!!! one tape left a little hill of magnetic dust near the Tapehead - never used it again.

Ah did I mention the backup-copies of important material?;-)

Guest Tue, 12/04/2001 - 15:57

I'll more or less agree with Pan - back when I used ADATs in a pinch I was able to record on just about any SVHS I could find. But if it's a brand you don't trust, transfer it to something else at the earliest opportunity.

Here's a trick that may help avoid the oxide dust problem. I would always keep an old VCR deck around purely for the purposes of fast forwarding and rewinding every new tape that was going to be formatted 2 or 3 times before ever inserting it into an ADAT machine. That way any loose particles would get knocked off before ever coming near my machines. Maybe it was part psychological, but it really seemd to work for me.

pan Tue, 12/04/2001 - 18:36

Here's a trick that may help avoid the oxide dust problem. I would always keep an old VCR deck around purely for the purposes of fast
forwarding and rewinding every new tape that was going to be formatted 2 or 3 times before ever inserting it into an ADAT machine. That way
any loose particles would get knocked off before ever coming near my machines. Maybe it was part psychological, but it really seemd to work
for me.

NOW you tell me... ;-)

Ang1970 Tue, 12/04/2001 - 20:55

Quick question - what does this guy normally use? Bop him in the head real good for not having good sony, basf, or hhb tapes in stock.

About ADAT... by definition, ADAT tape is S-VHS format tape. So any S-VHS tape will work, provided that:
[list]

  • the backing is not too thin or too thick
  • the oxide stays on the backing and not on the ADAT head
  • the transport mechanism inside the cassette is stable
  • you follow stringently the rules of ADAT tape operation

    As you can see, in this case you are at the mercy of the tape manufacturer. Their attention to quality is the difference between heaven and hell for you.
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