Head Cleaning Cassette for the HV20

[aurangzeb]

Hello HV20 Users,

I have a query regarding which head cleaning cassette to use on the HV20.

I shall be using Sony DVM-63 HD cassettes to record footage on my HV20 (which is arriving next week). I read that these Sony cassettes are supposed to be very high quality. What I would like to know is what cleaning cassette should I use to clean the HV20 heads after recording for several hours.

Two cassettes which have caught my attention, namely, the Canon DVM-CL DV Head Cleaning Cassette, and the Sony MiniDV Cleaning Cassette.

Were I using Canon MiniDV cassettes for recording footage I would have unhesitatingly opted for the Canon head cleaner. But, as I will be using Sony miniDV cassettes, I am unsure which head cleaning brand to use now. In other words, should I use the Canon head cleaning cassette because the Camcorder is from Canon, or should I use the Sony head cleaning cassette because the miniDV cassettes are from Sony? Somewhere I read that one should stick to one brand of miniDV cassette because different brands leave behind traces of different chemicals on the camcorder heads and mixing brands can reduce the head life-span or cause complications.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks.

Aurangzeb

[Rikki]

Sony, to keep the formulations and any lubricants the same

[XFR]

Yep, just like Rikki said, stick with a brand. And Sony Premium cassettes are 5 times as cheap as those HDV tapes btw :)

[aurangzeb]

Thank you Rikki and XFR. I shall do as advised and purchase the Sony head cleaning cassette.

[Rikki]

No problem, I recently bought myself one to use. Ran it for 10 seconds and seemed to work fine.

[Cartoonmaker]

Hi all,

I saw on another forum that the Sony tapes are the only ones to use "wet" lubricated tapes. The general consensus was that if you were going to swap brands of tape, you could do so by using a head cleaner tape in between brands.

This seemed like a good idea, until I saw that a cleaning head cassette from Panasonic had "Dry" written on the front of it.

So the cleaning tapes are "wet" and "dry" too.... Which cleaner should you use if you're planning on switching brands down the line?

Any ideas? Any reading sources from reliable sources?

[soulkeeper]

Hi..My first post here....Very nice forum for HV-20 owner's..
I'm in the same situtation like aurangzeb...
But as i read in the manual(page 94)it says to use ONLY 'dry' cleaning tapes....

As others have written here it's not a problem to use sony minidv tapes as long as you use only them...But what about cleaning tapes?(i suppose that sony's cleaning tapes are wet too...)
Any advice?

P.S I've only recorded 5 minutes with sony 63 HDV cassette..
Maybe it's better to switch to the 'famous' panasonic pq....to be sure..

[glire]

I would never use Sony DV tapes in anything else than in a Sony camcorder.
Indeed, the manual says to NOT use 'wet' cleaning tapes. I extrapolated that and don't use any 'wet' tape. So Sony is excluded.

[DaveReporter]

I have been using a combination of Sony tapes, JVC tapes and Panasonic tapes in both an older GS120 and my HV20. So far no problems (or need for head cleaning). I would agree with avoiding the wet cleaning tape but I am not convinced that one should avoid (or exclusively use) Sony tapes.

I stand corrected by anyone who has had other experiences.

Dave

[HV20 novice]

Yep, just like Rikki said, stick with a brand. And Sony Premium cassettes are 5 times as cheap as those HDV tapes btw :)

But XFR, if you're recording HD, doesn't it make a difference in the video quality to be recording on the HD mini-DV Sony tape instead of the Premium tape? In other words, can the Premium Sony tape record and play back HD? Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison to know the answer to this question?

[24Peter]

Yeah, people have been using Sony Premium tapes from day one to record HDV without issue. HDV and DV are the same when it comes to laying info down on tape.

[swaneon]

used the Sony Premiums for a some time now, excellent stuff.
But switched to TDK since they seem to be cheaper, any idea about the performance?

[HalD]

One thing to keep in mind about cleaning tapes, is that the tape is only cleaning the head. The pinch rollers and fixed guides are not getting much help from the cleaning tape. So any gunk build up from mixing wet/dry tapes is still going to accumulate. See my thread in why not to mix tape brands.
Cheers,
HalD