How durable are Hi8 MP tapes?

[Nikos]

I bought a whole bunch of TDK MP Hi8 tapes to use for my capturing of cable shows/sports games this year. I will be recording in the digital8 format.

My question is, are how durable are these hi8 tapes (with digital8 format recorded on it)..in other words how long do they last and HOW MUCH IS TOO MANY TIMES TO WATCH the tape before it noticable deteriorates?

In other words can I watch my recordings often without worrying about ruining its quality?

any help would be great
thanks

-Nikos

[BJ_M]

we had a bunch of these last only 5 years after maybe 50 uses or less .. i used them for data tape retrival up but same tape (someone got cheap and bought video tape for data staorage because they were cheaper than data tapes, which are thicker) ..

i would think shelf life in a low humidity location would be at least 10 - 15 years as are vhs tapes (sometimes more) ..

since you are using digital - there are still dropouts that can happen but not as bad as analog at first -- but will still happen as oxide flakes off.

[Nikos]

Do you reccomend buying different kind of types to record my Digital Format? Cause I can get these tapes for $3.00 each and every where else I look other Hi8 tapes, Digital 8 tapes are more expensive...

Should I buy a different kind of tape or are these good as long as I take care of them?