How to Erase an DV Tape

[lchungwe]

Please advise.

As overwritten the tape by recording again may caused alot of time editing.

Wish to re-cycle for use as I do not need so many DV Tapes.

[bb]

Welcome to the forum.

If your camcorder has DV-in, then you can create a black clip in your video editing software and save it to your camcorder. Else you can record with the cap on the object lens.

bb

[lchungwe]

thanks.

I am using Ulead Videostudio and Pinnacle Studio 8.0.

Could you advise how to do it using either one of the above?

Regards
Willie

[theReal]

You don't need to erase it, just use it again (and before and after every recording session record some 30 seconds of black by putting the lenscap on, so you can easily see where one session starts and ends.

[bb]

Originally posted by theReal
You don't need to erase it[...]
True, but some people prefer that, so that they have a contiguous timestamp on the tape.

@lchungwe:
Sorry, I don't use the software you have any more, so I don't remember the exact procedures and menus, but you should be able to create a simple black scene by searching the video editor's help files. In Ulead MediaStudio Pro I simply create a project, click on "Insert color clip", set it to black (pure color) and set the duration.

bb

[theReal]

I forgot about that (at work I'm having DVCAM equipmentwhere you just set the timecode start manually).

However, once the whole tape has a contiguous TC, you can just proceed like I said.

[smok3]

question: how does timecode continuity matter in all that? (tc should be
overwriten when you record over the old stuff, no?)

[theReal]

(tc should be overwriten when you record over the old stuff, no?) When you already have a contiguous timecode til the end of the tape it's no problem. If there's still blank spaces on the tape with no TC it's better to record black all over the tape first (usually you should do this before the first usage)

[communist]

At a nearby public TV station they have a device they turn on - slip the cassette over it and bang its empty. Probably some big electro-magnet :p