I was just curious - what brands of tape do you all use for your general recording? I have used pretty much every brand, and have noticed little difference between them, but here's my list:

TDK Revue
TDK Vivid
TDK E-HG
Maxell GX-Silver
Maxell Bronze
Maxell Advanced Hi-Fi
Maxell Standard Grade
Memorex HS
Sony "V"
Panasonic "VHS"
Fuji "HQ"
Fuji "PRO"

Discontinued brands:

Kodak High Grade
Polaroid "Supercolor"
Scotch, GoldStar, BASF, etc..
TDK Hi-Fi Extra High Grade
TDK S-HG

Now, for what I think about them:

TDK Revue - currently my favorite brand! I love TDK products, and their tapes are no exception. As for TDK Vivid, E-HG & S-HG, I would pretty much call them standard and run-of-the-mill, but the discontinued TDK "Hi-Fi" line is something else! On a standard 4 head Hi-Fi VCR, that tape gave an incredible recording in SLP (yes, SLP!) mode!!

Maxell - these I'm not too fond of. In fact, I have found their cheapest, bottom line Bronze line to give the best recordings! Silver, Standard, & Hi-Fi were nothing to write home about and I'm not anxious to buy those again...

Memorex HS - I've only used this kind once, and they aren't the best either. I noticed a very slight general overall bluriness in picture, and a few fuzzy dropout spots...

Sony - these used to be my favorite, and they are still up there. They give a nice recording, and are usually the cheapest name brand...

Panasonic "VHS" - I just recently started using these, when I noticed Target sold them - great tapes!! Although they look somewhat cheap & junky on the outside (and are manufactured in Korea) they still give a nice recording, and long with Revue are my favorites!

Fuji - I don't use these much, but when I have they're pretty standard...

As for the discontinued brands, I didn't think Kodak was all that bad and if they were still made, I would certainly still buy them. Polaroid was kind of junky and I only used those once or twice - Scotch, GoldStar & BASF, etc I have never really personally used, but my family used to buy Scotch quite a bit when they were sold back in the late 80s/early 90s...

OK, I've rambled enough here, now I want to hear what the rest of you have to say!

(There also may be more tapes I have used, but these are what I use mostly, and if I think of anything else to say - I'll post)

I've actually found Maxwell to be very good. I prefer them. I've also used TDK, Sony and RCA. All of them are fine. I don't really have a "normal" brand I always buy, but they all seem to work well for me.

Originally posted by bb25
I was just curious - what brands of tape do you all use for your general recording? I have used pretty much every brand, and have noticed little difference between them, but here's my list:

TDK Revue
TDK Vivid
TDK E-HG
Maxell GX-Silver
Maxell Bronze
Maxell Advanced Hi-Fi
Maxell Standard Grade
Memorex HS
Sony "V"
Panasonic "VHS"
Fuji "HQ"
Fuji "PRO"

Discontinued brands:

Kodak High Grade
Polaroid "Supercolor"
Scotch, GoldStar, BASF, etc..
TDK Hi-Fi Extra High Grade
TDK S-HG

Now, for what I think about them:

TDK Revue - currently my favorite brand! I love TDK products, and their tapes are no exception. As for TDK Vivid, E-HG & S-HG, I would pretty much call them standard and run-of-the-mill, but the discontinued TDK "Hi-Fi" line is something else! On a standard 4 head Hi-Fi VCR, that tape gave an incredible recording in SLP (yes, SLP!) mode!!

Maxell - these I'm not too fond of. In fact, I have found their cheapest, bottom line Bronze line to give the best recordings! Silver, Standard, & Hi-Fi were nothing to write home about and I'm not anxious to buy those again...

Memorex HS - I've only used this kind once, and they aren't the best either. I noticed a very slight general overall bluriness in picture, and a few fuzzy dropout spots...

Sony - these used to be my favorite, and they are still up there. They give a nice recording, and are usually the cheapest name brand...

Panasonic "VHS" - I just recently started using these, when I noticed Target sold them - great tapes!! Although they look somewhat cheap & junky on the outside (and are manufactured in Korea) they still give a nice recording, and long with Revue are my favorites!

Fuji - I don't use these much, but when I have they're pretty standard...

As for the discontinued brands, I didn't think Kodak was all that bad and if they were still made, I would certainly still buy them. Polaroid was kind of junky and I only used those once or twice - Scotch, GoldStar & BASF, etc I have never really personally used, but my family used to buy Scotch quite a bit when they were sold back in the late 80s/early 90s...

OK, I've rambled enough here, now I want to hear what the rest of you have to say!

(There also may be more tapes I have used, but these are what I use mostly, and if I think of anything else to say - I'll post)


I think TDK is the best and Maxwell is the Worst

Both of you have said Maxwell, but it's actually Maxell - there is no W...

I use the brand that is the cheapest name brand.

Usually, it's RCA or Maxell.

Originally posted by TVJunkie101
I've actually found Maxwell to be very good. I prefer them. I've also used TDK, Sony and RCA. All of them are fine. I don't really have a "normal" brand I always buy, but they all seem to work well for me.

I love Maxell, but the stores around here have stopped selling them. Since then I've been using Sony Premium Grade.

Other Ones I've Used:

- LDK
- TDK
- RCA
- JVC

LOL. I've never even noticed it's actually Maxell and not Maxwell. Go figure. I've been using that brand for months and didn't even notice.

I use JVC: The Inventor of VHS (T-120sx) for everything. :D It's my favorite brand.

Looking around on my shelves, I've used....

RCA
JVC
Memorez
MGM
Zenith
Polaroid
Maxell
BASF
Kodak
GE
One tape that seems to be a generic brand...


And that's just on one shelf! As you can see, I really do use whatever I can get the cheapest.:lol:

I have used

fugi
maxell
sony
memorex
tdk
jvc

out of thease i have used i like JVC the best.

I've also used JVC, but I guess I didn't really think much of them...someone also mentioned LDK, which I've also tried, and that has to be the crappiest brand! The whole recording has a jumpiness and there's weird red blotches and lines in the picture, and a nasty hiss in the sound throughout! Needless to say, I'd never buy another one of those...alot of people have also used RCA, the one brand I've never tried - I've got to try them soon!

LDK is the worst brand out there! Its probably the cheapest too! Nasty cover, awful sounds, images, etc. ...highly NOT recommended. RCA, also, is pretty bad. Not as bad as LDK, though.

where do you get GE tapes

Kodak & Polaroid have discontinued their lines of video products unfortunately...:(

Like I said I love Panasonic! Highly recommended! To my knowledge, the only place to buy them is at Target - I've never seen them anyplace else...

I have also used poloroid tapes

Actually I have seen MGM brand tapes for sale at Eye on Video and Amazon, so they may be available at more video rental stores...

I have heard they're not the best though...and you're definitely going to be paying more than a dollar a tape if you buy them from those sources...try 2 or 3 a piece...

Originally posted by bb25
Actually I have seen MGM brand tapes for sale at Eye on Video and Amazon, so they may be available at more video rental stores...

I have heard they're not the best though...and you're definitely going to be paying more than a dollar a tape if you buy them from those sources...try 2 or 3 a piece... Wow, that's pretty pricy. Any reason why?

thats a lot of money

Are those mgm tapes better then they used to be???Several years ago,target stores got into a lawsuit with mgm,cause all the tapes were supposedlly junk???

Yeah, actually, if you're not careful, video tapes can be VERY pricey. Just go to Rite Aid and browse the recordable media section. I believe I saw it was $3.99 for a single Maxell Silver 8 hour tape, which is incredibly high! That's why you have to shop around. Walgreens usually has weekly coupon sales or $.99 for a single Sony or TDK tape, which is a great deal, but it's a limit of 6. I buy my Panasonic tapes at Target for $3.99 for 3 6 hour tapes, or $4.49 for 3 8 hour tapes, which isn't bad at all. It's usually when you buy them as a single tape, the price gets high. The most I paid for a tape was $3.49 for a Maxell Advanced Hi-Fi and I would not recommend that brand to anyone! It had the worst picture quality I've seen on a Maxell tape, and it's supposeldy their top of the line for consumer grade...


As for the MGM tapes, I'm really not sure. Try Amazon in the Electronics & Camera/Film sections for "blank tape" or "blank video tape" - there are a few reviews for them...I've never personally purchased them, but I would assume it's just the luster of the name that makes people buy them...

Time to wrack my brain...

Maxell
TDK
JVC
Memorex
RCA
Sony
Scotch
BASF
Kodak
GE

I think that's in the order of how many of each brand I have (Maxell being the most, I think). I've probably got a few others that I can't think of right now...

I try to buy what's on sale, $1/tape or less ;)

Where do you guys get GE tapes? I have never seen them for sale, nor have I even heard of GE making tapes...??:confused:

i only record on vhs to tranfer it to the pc, so i have about 20 tapes i reuse over and over, so i got some maxell hi fi professional grades in purple cases. i bought them a while back and they can be expensive but the picture is clear and gorgeous. But if i record a 2 hr movie or something like that and do keep it on vhs, i usally just use a jvc tape or whatever else is $1 per tape. When you record in sp, you tend to get great results no matter what you use.

I havent really found anything super great for ep recording, because as time goes by they just seem to degrade. :(
wish i would have been able to do the pc thing years ago, because i did have a lot of stuff in ep from years ago, sliders and soap operas from a long time ago.
i do have a lot of my soap from the early 90's recorded in ep and it is still beautiful, but the tape was from the $1 bin at aldi's. I never would have expected - i dont think they make this brand inow and dont even think it was a major one, but they are the most beautiful ive ever seen in ep mode, plus they run about 2 1/2 in sp. i think they're called "avanti."

Yeah, those Maxell Hi-Fi Pro grade tapes in the purple cases is what I was mentioning earlier. I actually found them awful in SLP mode! The picture was full of lines and almost an underlying bluriness throughout. I suppose it would be better in SP mode, but I'll never buy another one to try...

As for the EP (SLP) recording I found TDK Hi-Fi Extra High Grade the best - the picture and sound are fantastic for SLP!! Unfortunately TDK no longer makes that certain line, so if you see them on eBay or anywhere else - get them!! I was lucky enough to have someone from eBay sell me a brand new sealed 8 hour one, along with a new sealed 8 hour Scotch as well...

Also, another good brand for SLP recording is TDK E-HG. I just watched ALF that I had recorded a few weeks back (the last time Hallmark showed it) and although there is slight graininess, the picture is nice and bright and clear, and they have crisp sound. I purchased them at Walgreens for $6.99 for a 3-pack, and that's the only store I've seen them for sale...

Avanti makes audio tapes. Didn't know they made video tapes tho. Target has a set of 4 video tapes (I forget the brand but it was a name brand) on their clearance rack in the electronics dept for $4 something. I bought a set the other day...

It was most likely Panasonic or TDK - or Sony...those 3 are the only brands Target sells..

Anyone know if you can buy Avanti video tapes anymore? I did a search the other day, and found a site that sells Avanti audio tapes at a really good price. I think it was $1.99 for a 5 pack, but the shipping was like $7 so it's like not even worth the bother. But they're cool because they kind of look old fashioned. It has a black plastic shell and pre-placed label, whereas any brand today has the easily scratchable (and very noticable) clear shell (am I the only one that still uses blank audio cassettes for radio mix tapes??:rolleyes: ) anyway, if anyone knows about Avanti, please post!

If I remember right, the AVANTI tapes were around in the 70's I think. They were among some of the budget brands...

Any new members, or anyone else who missed this, have anything to add?

I've had no problems with my own recordings, nor complaints from any traders, when using MAXELL. I haven't found them too often lately though at BJ's or Best Buy so FUJI has been the alternative for now.

I currently use RCA and TDK and occassionally Sony. I like Zenith too but I can only find those rarely when I go out of town. I've never seen them around where I live. I have also used JVC, Memorex, MGM, Polaroid, Scotch, Fuji, Maxell and Kodak. I tried to tape the 1996 Olympics on Maxell and there was NO SOUND afterwards - I was highly upset. I won't ever use Maxell again. I liked Fuji and I liked Kodak but can't buy those anymore. The tapes I have on SCOTCH are old - mid 80's and they are still really good quality so I'd definitely buy them again if they ever made them again.

I've never had a problem with the RCA tapes and I use them 99% of the time I tape my own stuff and trade.

I dont know that I've ever seen or used an LDK tape - what color is the box?

LDK is just a really really cheap brand that's sold at Value City & Dollar Tree stores. It's has a sort-of red/yellow mix box and has T-120 in HUGE letters on the box. It comes with a blank label already in place on the the cassette - nothing else included. And at $1.29 at Value City - you can buy cheaper Sony & TDK!!! Avoid em...

Also, the reason that no sound was recorded may not have been the tape, and probably wasn't. The TV could have been muted, or the VCR audio cable may have been disconnected from the TV or VCR. Only in rare cases would something like that happen because of a defective cassette...

Hi all!! Just back from my Disney Cruise vacation! I'm relaxed and tan (but caught a flu on the plane) and ready to start chatting about tapes and TV shows again ... :D

I have a few new brands to add to my list...I recently bought a
few discounted TDK "DSP" tapes at a local store, and used them to tape Kate & Allie in SLP mode. Well, since they're TDK's best top-of-the-line consumer grade VHS tape, I would have expected much more...it's not that they were bad, but I could have gotten the same results with a standard TDK or Fuji tape...overall I think that the better tapes out there (TDK "DSP", "Vivid". Maxell "Hi-Fi", etc..) are more intended for spectacular SP results (digital performance, Dolby surround, etc.) than for improved SLP recordings...

Also, just this week I bought my first RCA tape! I noticed that most of you guys had used these, and I'd never tried one before, so when I got around to using mine, I'll let y'all know what I think!

I like Sony or TDK. I tried RCA but it was really weird, the tapes don't seen to fit in the box right, they get stuck. I thought it was just the batch I bought, but when I traded with someone they sent me RCA and I have trouble getting them out of the box too. Anyone else with this problem? Or just my luck, just me?
Lucy

Originally posted by Tealady2
I like Sony or TDK. I tried RCA but it was really weird, the tapes don't seen to fit in the box right, they get stuck. I thought it was just the batch I bought, but when I traded with someone they sent me RCA and I have trouble getting them out of the box too. Anyone else with this problem? Or just my luck, just me?
Lucy

HOLY SHABOLEY! I thought that was just me! I quit buying RCA tapes BECAUSE of that! I have to tear the top parts of the box off just to get the tapes out! I have no problems with the actual tape but if you can't use the boxes, what is the point? So I quit buying RCA.

Wow, I really thought it was just me.

the tapes don't seen to fit in the box right

Yeah, I know what you mean. The boxes seem too small for the tape. I buy them in the 10pks or sometimes by the case and it seems they try to cram as much as they can into the smallest space possible!

I've used:

RCA
Fuji
MGM Grand
Memorex
TDK
Maxell
Polroid
Sony
Zenith

Out off all them, I prefer Fuji HQ. I've recently been using a cheap brand called Gold HQ and they work really well. I get them for $1 a peice.

On what tapes I use, I use RCA, because they are cheaper and great to record stuff on.

When I first bought RCA at one of our local stores, I thought it might have been a fluke with the processing of them that the tapes get stuck in the box. And recently I did a trade with someone who lives in another state and I couldn't get the tapes out of the boxes. Now I have two tapes that I have to find cases to put them in because the boxes tore.
Lucy

Tapes such as LDK where labels are already placed on the tape and no extra labels included are the worst of them of them all because they are used tapes, they record over to blank tape, reshrinkwrap them and put them on the shelves. Sometimes the actual tape on the inside don't work while other times it isn't 6 hour tape or whatever size it's supposed to be. It is very rare to find a good tape among them. Sleeves are tight sometimes.

I have no problems RCA that other people speak of but you may get them at different place than i do. I wouldn't buy them anymore if the sleeves don't fit properly.

Well I used an RCA tape for the first time today...they aren't bad! I was expecting them to be of lesser overall quality, but really they aren't...I'd say they're just below the major national brands (Sony, Fuji, TDK, maxell, Panasonic), in terms of picture/sound quality...and it's interesting, we've always owned RCA VCR's (although we recently bought a JVC primarily for movie watching) so it's a little surprising to me now that I never used RCA tape before...

Also, I had no problems with the box...they just changed the box design for RCA tapes recently, from a black with purple/orange design to white with huge red RCA letter on the side, so maybe they corrected the problem with the new boxing...

No those are the same boxes I have problems with. I bought a pack again yesterday to see if the roblem was fixed...and it is not. I can get the tape out of the sleeve but putting it back in is impossible.

That's so weird...my box is fine...:confused:

I mainly use Sony or Maxell.

If I need a tape quickly and dont have time to go to my usuall store I usually use Fuji

Originally posted by bb25
That's so weird...my box is fine...:confused:

The black RCA boxes with red lettering don't do it. It's the white RCA boxes with yellow sides and red lettering that do it.

I just thought of something...sometimes overly tight packaging can warp tape boxes, making some of the edges bend and making it hard to put the tape back in the box. This happened to me with TDK E-HG tapes where I had to put both first fingers in the box and bend out both of the upper/lower edges (it's really hard to explain), but that helped and I've had no other problems...you might try that with the RCA tapes...otherwise you might want to email RCA about it...

OK...if anyone here is interested in my final verdict on RCA tapes, it is : NOT recommended!

They started out OK for me, but after I taped on the same segment a few times, the picture & sound rapidly deteriorated. Reds & pinks hurt my eyes to look at. I rarely use a tape more than once, but I bought the RCA with use it over & over in mind, and it didn't work like I would have hoped. I suppose they are OK if you use them once, but they just seem to me to be a cheaper brand. I would go for Sony, TDK or Fuji for the same price anyday. Same with RCA audio cassettes - they seem of lesser quality than the other brands.

Just thought I'd let y'all know...just call me the tape master :p

I have used

JVC
Sony
RCA
Maxell
Scotch
Kodak
Polaroid
EMX
Magnavox
Memorex
Focal

Bump

Just thought I'd pass this along...I recently re-watched Kate & Allie that I had taped on Panasonic 8-hour cassettes this winter and the recording is awesome. It's very clear and nice, and in SLP mode too - I highly reccomend them, they're sold at Target...