Monday, September 5, 2011

Fix The Noise On A Super 8 Tape

Super 8 video cameras came out before Hi-8 and Digital8 video camcorders.


Super 8 is a widely used standard for film stock tapes. It is slightly larger than 8mm film yet smaller then the standard 16mm film strip. A Super 8 tape is an analog tape that is close to the size of a cassette tape, yet nearly a full inch thick. When using a Super 8 tape you may run into "noise" on the recording, which describes anything from snow on the picture to static in the audio. This is almost always due to dirty track heads in the camera, and the best method for correcting the noise is to clean the track heads.


Instructions








1. Eject the current Super 8 tape from the video camera.


2. Spray a few shots of compressed air into the open tape deck. This removes any dust, dirt or other debris that is stuck on the exterior of the deck.








3. Insert the cleaning tape deck into the Super 8 video camera then set it to "View" mode and press "Play." This plays the cleaning tape through the camera and over the dirty player heads. The process removes the stuck debris causing the noise on the tape. Allow the tape to play for a few minutes before ejecting it.


4. Insert the Super 8 tape back into the video camera. Now when you record there should be no more static or snow.

Tags: video camera, cleaning tape, Super tape, Super tape, Super video, tape deck, track heads