Chapter 13. Writing to Tape

Most video producers render to tape to distribute or archive their productions.

When you work in DV and write to DV tape, typically you will then dub to VHS or some other widely supported analog format for distribution to the grandparents.

When you work in analog video, you'll want to write each distribution tape directly from Studio, rather than dubbing one tape to VHS and then dubbing additional tapes from there. This approach avoids the quality loss associated with analog-to-analog copies, which is like photocopying a photocopy.

Writing to tape is a three-step process. First you set up your hardware, which is nearly identical to connecting for capture. Then Studio renders the project, essentially implementing all of your editing work, inserting transitions, mixing audio, and overlaying titles. Sounds like hard work, doesn't it? But it's all transparent; no user intervention required. When rendering is complete, you begin the final stage: actually writing the video to tape.