Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!uflorida!haven!adm!smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: question on effects on computer tape as videotape...
Message-ID: <10459@smoke.BRL.MIL>
Date: 27 Jun 89 08:58:23 GMT
References: <2147@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 13

In article <2147@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> peterli@mis.ucsf.edu (Peter Li) writes:
>1.  How long does it take to ruin the video head if a computer tape is used 
>    in place of the videotape ?

Never, ever try to use a magtape designed for one application in an
entirely different application.  They have many characteristics that
are tailored for the intended use, and using one for an unintended
purpose can damage the equipment (usually due to differences in
lubricant), and at best will have the wrong magnetic properties,
leading to degraded performance.

I don't know precisely how long it would take to ruin your video
recorder; it's not an experiment I would try on mine.