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General discussion

Shelf life of sony mini tapes?

Jan 5, 2006 6:13AM PST

What is the average # of years the mini tape lasts. Also, will they ever, or do they already, make a player for these tapes. If not are you expected to always own a sony camcorder to play your tapes?

Discussion is locked

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Shelf life of sony mini tapes?
Jan 5, 2006 6:32AM PST

A very long time!!!! I have VHS tapes that are 25 years old still play, guess I need to keep a VHS player around.
The soultion is to copy them to DVDs, or allwise keep a working Mini DV camera.
Yes they make MiniDV decks, cost twice as much as a camera. John

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Johns Answer
Jan 6, 2006 5:51AM PST

Thanks for your info.

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micro mv tapes to dvd
Jan 7, 2006 1:55AM PST

How do I record my micro mv tapes to dvd? I have a Sony DCR-IP camcorder and have been unable to find good software that allows me to record to my computer and then to dvd. Can you help?
Eric

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(NT) (NT) Dose this camera have a firewire port?? John
Jan 19, 2006 1:16AM PST
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Mini DV Tape or MVtape to DVD
Jan 20, 2006 11:13PM PST

Your camcorder most likely has a mini USB connector on the side or back of the camera. The cable is normally included with the camera.

You can use Microsoft Movie Make (part of XP OS, or iMovie for the Mac) to get the video into the har ddrive of your comuter. Both programs will allow rudimentary editing functions, too.

Otherwise, I suggest Ulead's VideoStudio 9 for capturing the tapes, editing and producing a video.

I use this regularly with my real estae practice to produce images that are sharp and clear, and fun to look at for my clients.

iMovie is still the best of the low cost product offerings for the Mac. You can also use Adobe Premier Elements in both formats.

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MicroMV to DVD - See Below
Jan 20, 2006 11:22PM PST

I found the specs for your camcorder, and it has a mini usb port on the camera, which you connect to a computer USB port, via an included cable.

Connect th ecomputer to the camera, switch it to VCR mode,a nd you can copy the video and still image(s) to your computer hard drive.

From there, use Microsoft Media Maker (inlcuded in XP, or free download), or iMovie (Mac) to capture the video. If you want a PC application that is better than Microsoft's, use ULead Videostudio 9 ($99) or Adobe Acrobat Premeir Elements (Mac or PC) to capture, edit and publish you viseo and images.

Hope this helps...

Sony DCR-IP1
Features:

Pocketable, 8-ounce MicroMV camcorder and digital still camera--the size of a deck of cards
10x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 120x) with Super SteadyShot image stabilizer
2-inch rotating precision SwivelScreen hybrid touch panel LCD
Memory Stick Pro slot, wireless remote control, and Handycam Station
NP-FF51 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery


Specifications
Video format:
Imaging Device: 1/5", 1070K Gross Pixels Advanced HAD CCD
Video Actual: 690K Pixels
Still Actual: 1000K Pixels
Aperture: f1.8-2.3
Focal Distance: 3.2-32mm
35mm Conversion: 46-460mm (Camera Mode), 28-380mm (Memory Mode)
Optical Zoom: 10X
Digital Zoom: 120X
Focusing: Full Range Auto/Manual (Touch Panel)
Minimum Illumination: 7 Lux
NightShot Infrared System: Color Slow Shutter
Shutter Speed: 1/2 - 1/4000 (Program AE Mode)
Memory Mode: Yes, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480
MPEG Movie AX Mode: Light (144 x 96) 10 fps, Standard (144 x 96) 10 fps, Fine (352 x 240) 30 fps, Superfine (352 x 240) 30 fps
LCD: 2.0 inches Color (210K)
Video Input/Output: Yes/Yes with supplied Handycam Station
Audio Input/Output: Yes/Yes with supplied Handycam Station
i.LINK MICROMV Interface (IEEE1394): Yes (4 Pin) with supplied Handycam Station
USB Terminal: Yes via supplied Handycam Station (verison 1.1)
Memory Stick PRO Media Compatibility: Tested to support up 512MB media capacity; does not support high speed transfer function; does not support Access Control security function
USB Streaming: Yes
White Balance: Auto/Outdoor/Indoor/Hold
Exposure: Yes/Touch Panel (24 Step)
Power Consumption (LCD): 3.8W
Software OS Compatibility: Microsoft Windows 2000, Me, XP
Dimensions (WHD): 1 9/16 x 3 5/8 x 2 3/4 inches (39mm x 91mm x 69mm)
Weight: 8 ounces (230g) without Tape and Battery
Supplied Accessories: AC-L25 Power Adapter/In-Camera Charger, NP-FF51 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery, 16MB Memory Stick DUO Media, RMT-832 Wireless Remote Commander Remote Control, 2 AA Batteries, DCRA-C100 Handycam Station, A/V Cable, USB Cable, LCD Cleaning Cloth, Stylus, Wrist Strap, CD-ROM w/ Driver (MovieShaker Software v.3.1).
Battery Life(Battery: Rec Time LCD Backlight On/Off, Playback Time LCD Backlight On/Off): NP-FF50: 70/75 minutes, 80/80 minutes; NP-FF51: 80/85 minutes, 90/90 minutes; NP-FF70: 150/160 minutes, 170/175 minutes; NP-FF51: 165/170 minutes, 180/190 minutes
Memory Mode(Memory Stick DUO Media1: Fine/Std 1152 x 864, Fine/Std 640 x 480): 16MB: 30/74, 96/240; 32MB: 61/150, 190/485; 64MB: 120/300, 390/980; 128MB: 245/600, 780/1970; 256MB: 445/1000, 1400/3550; 512MB: 900/2050, 2850/7200
MPEG Movie(Approximate Times)(Memory Stick DUO Media: Light, Standard, Fine, Super Fine): 16MB: 10m 00s, 5m 00s, 2m 30s, 1m 30s; 32MB: 20m 00s, 10m 00s, 5m 20s, 3m 20s; 64MB: 41m 00s, 20m 00s, 11m 00s, 6m 50s; 128MB: 1h 20m 00s, 41m 00s, 22m 00s, 13m 00s; 256MB: 2h 30m 00s, 1h 15m 00s, 40m 00s, 25m 00s; 512MB: 5h 05m 00s, 2h 30m 00s, 1h 20m 00s, 51m 00s

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RE: MicroMV to DVD - See Below
Feb 6, 2006 3:59AM PST

One more thing to remember is hard drive space. Depending on the software you use, it requires a certain amount of space for copying the movie and the final product after editing.

As one reader wrote, they user ULead Video Studio 9, here are the requirements for it:

System Requirements

4 GB+ hard drive space for video capture and editing
Windows