Help me please,vhs-c tape.

[iknow1]

hi guys, i'm an italian guy and i need some help!
i have a panasonic vx22, so it supports vhs-c.
I should shoot an important video and I have to do it with this video camera.
could you tell me the best tape to buy?
the best brand and the best model?

this camcorder was a gift from my family long ago but i am not able to understand which is the best blank tape to record with.

thanks.

[dellsam34]

Does it really matter in 2020? Just get any VHS-C or S-VHS-C blank tape you can find, Your phone shoots a much better picture compared to VHS but if nostalgia is kicking you in the nuts any tape would do just fine, Like they say garbage in, garbage out. If I personally have an important video to shoot I better get an 8K camera.

[iknow1]

Does it really matter in 2020? Just get any VHS-C or S-VHS-C blank tape you can find, Your phone shoots a much better picture compared to VHS but if nostalgia is kicking you in the nuts any tape would do just fine, Like they say garbage in, garbage out. If I personally have an important video to shoot I better get an 8K camera.

in any case I agree with you very much!
but for this video the very high definition doesn't count or rather I would just like to be able to have the maximum possible quality for the camera in question!

i believe this particular model does not support super vhs-c.

I would like to know which is the best quality tape

[phelissimo_]

I would like to know which is the best quality tape

Some brands I can reccomend: TDK, MAXELL, JVC, SONY, BASF/EMTEC....

[iknow1]

I would like to know which is the best quality tape

Some brands I can reccomend: TDK, MAXELL, JVC, SONY, BASF/EMTEC....

I kindly ask you if possible to indicate me a name and a specific model.
the problem is that i'm a real neophyte and i read premium, professiona, high grade everywhere but i get the impression it was just marketing at the time

I would be really grateful if you could indicate the exact model!
thanks !!!!

[phelissimo_]

I kindly ask you if possible to indicate me a name and a specific model.

It was indeed marketing but you can't do much wrong with those tapes.
Just post a link to some of you found and I see if they're good or bad.

[iknow1]

I kindly ask you if possible to indicate me a name and a specific model.

It was indeed marketing but you can't do much wrong with those tapes.
Just post a link to some of you found and I see if they're good or bad.

I don't really know how to search but I could link this to you: https://www.amazon.it/Maxell-Black-Video-cassette-Confezione/dp/B0002DDTFI

and this: https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-HGX-Gold-TC-30-Premium-Videocassette/dp/B0000Y3JW2

for example these two look very similar..i don't understand the differences.
for this I ask for your help.

my camcorder, having no wording about the s vhs-c, is not compatible with those cassettes right?

thanks you are very kind in helping me!

[orsetto]

What country you live in will determine what blank tapes you can buy, if you're looking for brand new sealed unused tapes. You may not have much (if any) choice in the matter: you'll have to take whatever you can get.

If you do have a choice, any of the top brand name "EHG" or "SHG" VHS-C blank tapes should be fine (JVC, TDK, Maxell, Panasonic). Fuji is OK if no other choice, but the others are usually a bit better. By the end of the VHS era, there really wasn't much difference in quality between most of the big name brands. In theory, the "professional-grade" tapes (in big plastic clamshell cases instead of carboard sleeves) from each brand were the best quality they made, but this wasn't always quite true in practice: they really were not worth double or triple the price, and I'm not sure they even offered VHS-C format blanks in "professional grade" (most "pro" tapes were sold by Sony). SVHS tapes were probably the true "best" quality of all blanks.

EDIT: the Maxell VHS-C tapes you linked to above should be perfectly fine. Back when I still used a Panasonic VHS-C camcorder in the early 2000s, I often bought the Maxell Gold. No problems with it then, and those tapes still play well nearly 20 years later. Amazon prices are unusually high for blank tapes: better deals can be found on eBay.

[Clockwork]

...very high definition doesn't count...

...be able to have the maximum possible quality...

Pick one.

[iknow1]

...very high definition doesn't count...

...be able to have the maximum possible quality...

Pick one.

by "very high definition" I meant the 8k that the other user had mentioned.

by "best possible quality" I meant related to my device.

[dellsam34]

Use S-VHS-C tapes for VHS recording, They have much better tape formulation than plain VHS-C. Trust me any tape you pick would be sufficient for a low quality VHS. You are making it into a big issue while it's not. Whatever available in Amazon Italy or ebay Italy get it, I'm pretty sure it won't be a lot of choices.

[iknow1]

Use S-VHS-C tapes for VHS recording, They have much better tape formulation than plain VHS-C. Trust me any tape you pick would be sufficient for a low quality VHS. You are making it into a big issue while it's not. Whatever available in Amazon Italy or ebay Italy get it, I'm pretty sure it won't be a lot of choices.

in this case i think my camcorder does not work with s-vhs-c. is there no wording about it on it or is there the possibility to record on s-vhs-c?

[iknow1]

What country you live in will determine what blank tapes you can buy, if you're looking for brand new sealed unused tapes. You may not have much (if any) choice in the matter: you'll have to take whatever you can get.

If you do have a choice, any of the top brand name "EHG" or "SHG" VHS-C blank tapes should be fine (JVC, TDK, Maxell, Panasonic). Fuji is OK if no other choice, but the others are usually a bit better. By the end of the VHS era, there really wasn't much difference in quality between most of the big name brands. In theory, the "professional-grade" tapes (in big plastic clamshell cases instead of carboard sleeves) from each brand were the best quality they made, but this wasn't always quite true in practice: they really were not worth double or triple the price, and I'm not sure they even offered VHS-C format blanks in "professional grade" (most "pro" tapes were sold by Sony). SVHS tapes were probably the true "best" quality of all blanks.

EDIT: the Maxell VHS-C tapes you linked to above should be perfectly fine. Back when I still used a Panasonic VHS-C camcorder in the early 2000s, I often bought the Maxell Gold. No problems with it then, and those tapes still play well nearly 20 years later. Amazon prices are unusually high for blank tapes: better deals can be found on eBay.

wow. thank you so much for teaching me something!
you have been very kind and helpful!

[dellsam34]

in this case i think my camcorder does not work with s-vhs-c. is there no wording about it on it or is there the possibility to record on s-vhs-c?

It does, it just records VHS-C on the tape, Your camcorder doesn't care if the tape is S-VHS-C it will sees it as VHS-C, Is that clear now?

[iknow1]

in this case i think my camcorder does not work with s-vhs-c. is there no wording about it on it or is there the possibility to record on s-vhs-c?

It does, it just records VHS-C on the tape, Your camcorder doesn't care if the tape is S-VHS-C it will sees it as VHS-C, Is that clear now?

oh wow! this is really a good thing!
i didn't think i could use a super vhs-c in my video camera!
then I will aim to buy an s-vhs-c! thanks for the information!

[iknow1]

in this case could you recommend a better quality s-vhs-c tape or a best brand?

[aedipuss]

any new unused tape you can find will record the measly 240 lines of resolution the cam might be able to record if it's still working at all. it's only when tapes are reused that problems can occur. that cam is vhs not s-vhs, using the wrong tape type will probably make things worse as it doesn't have the right recording heads for s-vhs tape.

[dellsam34]

that cam is vhs not s-vhs, using the wrong tape type will probably make things worse as it doesn't have the right recording heads for s-vhs tape.

Don't confuse him more than what he already is, Any VHS camcorder or VCR can use S-VHS tapes and produces better quality than just using plain VHS tapes. Just as you would use Hi8 and D8 tapes for normal V8 recording, Everyone who was tech savvy enough in the era of analog camcorders and VCR's knows these facts.

[lordsmurf]

premium, professiona, high grade everywhere but i get the impression it was just marketing

It was indeed marketing

No.

Not entirely true.

There were some very definite differences in tape formulations based on product line. The silly names like "Premium" were often unhelpful, sometimes downright nonsense (looking at you, Sony!), but were still indicative of the lines.

For example,
- Maxell DSP/HiFi, and Maxell Gold/Silver (before the circa 2000 downgrade in quality, matched by box/branding changes), were better than Bronze.
- Fuji Pro was horrible tape media. Nothing "pro" about it whatsoever. Grainy, dropouts.
- Maxell has lot of problems on S-VHS tapes, easy to eat, jammed up to much internally. I think the oxide wasn't well adhered to the mylar binder.
- TDK was the best of all tapes, at all levels. Higher grade good, lower grade better than others.
- JVC EX and SX were decent, both were fairly identical.
- Sony was generally lower mid grade, but had really nice grain control.


... but in 2020, you'll take whatever you can get.

This info is just historical, and mostly used to explain why you'll see what you see on certain VHS tapes.

[iknow1]

https://www.amazon.it/TDK-4902030008048-HD-X-PRO-EC-30/dp/B01LWIMDFC I bought this in the end how do you think?

[aedipuss]

tdk was fine. just please fast forward and then rewind before using it to record on. it was made a long time ago and may be sticky.