In respect to BCT-40HD cassette

With camera running at 60i the 791ft of tape takes 40 minutes to be exhausted.

With camera running at 24Psf it takes 50 minutes.

Sony have labelled HDCAM tapes with both numbers, using a different size font to differentiate between 24Psf and 60i.

The large number relates to tape length at 60i. This is the same number as in the product code.

The smaller sized number is the running time at 24Psf.

Note that 25Psf (or 50i) runs 48 minutes on a 40 tape.

Sony small cassette tape sizes for HDCAM are

BCT-6HD

BCT-12 HD

BCT-22HD

BCT-32HD

BCT-40HD

Fuji and Maxwell have 32 and 40 min

So be careful if ordering a "40 min roll" as you could end up with BCT-32HD tapes.

Mike Brennan