[MacDV] erasing miniDV tapes

[Michael Winter]

On May 26, 2005, at 12:04 AM, frank fitzpatrick wrote:
> Somebody mentioned cleaning your heads. Good idea, too.
>

And make sure you clean the erase head too!

I'm assuming miniDV recorders are like VHS recorders where there's an 
erase head in the path before the record/playback head(s). When 
recording that's what is supposed to erase the tape before it is 
recorded.

That's also why the very beginning of the tape never re-records very 
well. When fully rewound, there's a little bit of tape between the 
erase and record heads that never passes in front of the erase head. 
Its also an issue when you stop a tape and start recording in the 
middle. That first couple seconds doesn't pass the erase head before 
its recorded over.

If the problem is occurring in throughout your recordings, I'd be 
suspicious of the erase head. Either its dirty or just not working.

-Mike