How does one fix a torn/ripped miniDV tape?

Has anyone had to repair a torn/ripped miniDV tape? Any suggestions of who in the New York City area I could bring this ripped tape to?

The door on one of my cassettes got funky and cut the tape.

Thanks,
Garret



Post Edited (04-20-06 15:34)

Mirror Door Dual 1 GHz G4, 1.25 GB SDRAM, 1 120 GB internal ATA, FCP 4.5, QT 6.5.2, OS 10.3.7
AND/OR
15" PowerBook G4, 1.67 GHz G4, 1.5 GB SDRAM, FCP 5.1.2, QT 7.1.3, OS 10.4.8

The only place that I know will do that is Lightning Dubs in Hollywood--and only Hollywood of all the Lightning Dubs

Lightning Dubs
953 N. Highland Ave
Hollywood CA 90038

(323) 957-9255

$75 48 Hour Turnaround.

If you can't find anybody in NYC.

You can do it yourself. You have to pull *all* of the tape out of the broken cassett into a big basket. Take your scalpel and cut out the broken segment of tape. Take one of the two halves and stick the free end and the leader together and wide it all back inside the cassett.

Rip all the tape out of a second cassett and discard it. Take the remaining half of the show, stick the ends onto the leader ends of the second tape and wind the whole thing back into the second cassett.

You can't put a splice in the middle of a MiniDV tape.

The first half of the show is on one cassett and the second half is on the other. Each is a continuous segment of tape with ad-lib leaders. The crunched segment is trash and you can't get to about six seconds at each end of each tape.

In the middle of the process you have two bushel baskets of tape on the floor that your can't crease or bend in any way. I gaffer taped a variable speed electric drill to the kitchen counter on low speed as a power winder.

It can be done.

Call Lightning Dubs. Trust me on this.

Koz

Ouch. Bigger deal than I thought.

Thanks, Koz.

Garret



Mirror Door Dual 1 GHz G4, 1.25 GB SDRAM, 1 120 GB internal ATA, FCP 4.5, QT 6.5.2, OS 10.3.7
AND/OR
15" PowerBook G4, 1.67 GHz G4, 1.5 GB SDRAM, FCP 5.1.2, QT 7.1.3, OS 10.4.8

<<<Bigger deal than I thought.>>>

Oh, it's an unrestrained pain in the butt. I did it just to see what would happen. I wasn't ready for that little cassett to produce a foot-tall pile of tape on the floor. I did know about the splice thing, so I knew I would have to make two different tapes, one before the damage and one after.

One roommate was a doctor, so I had actual scalpels, etc. I also used to edit audio tape--manually--so I knew how to create a tape alignment block out of stiff cardboard. The patch didn't have to last forever, so I used actual Scotch Tape for the leader connection.

I wasn't expecting it to work after I got done, but darn if they didn't play once long enough to rescue the work--or most of the work.

Did you find anybody in NYC that would admit to being willing to do the work?

Koz

Duart tells us they have someone who can do it. Waiting to hear about price. I'll let you know what I find out.



Mirror Door Dual 1 GHz G4, 1.25 GB SDRAM, 1 120 GB internal ATA, FCP 4.5, QT 6.5.2, OS 10.3.7
AND/OR
15" PowerBook G4, 1.67 GHz G4, 1.5 GB SDRAM, FCP 5.1.2, QT 7.1.3, OS 10.4.8