In response to the recent shortages of key pro tape media formats due to the Japan earthquake, Media Distributors is expanding its capacity to clean, degauss and recertify HDCam SR, HDCam and other professional tape media products for reuse by the production community.
Responding to an Industry Crisis
“We had to react fast to meet the needs of our customers,” said Bob Daly, VP of Sales, and co-owner of Media Distributors. “Our Green Partners Program has been in place for years, but we are now expanding our recycling capacity to ensure a steady supply of quality, usable HDCam SR, HDCam and other formats of professional media in the wake of the tragedy in Japan. What started as a program to help the environment will now help relieve the shortages in new recording media caused by this natural disaster.”
The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan damaged one of Sony’s key factories near Sendai, Japan, which has caused a severe, global shortage of these products.
“We have the ability to completely recertify these tapes for use again, so that our customers can continue to shoot and complete projects that would have went unfinished, essentially bringing the industry to a halt”, said Daly. “This is a viable, temporary solution until the supply of new tapes is restored.”
Media Distributors Green Partners Program
The Green Partners program was started years ago as a way to reduce the impact of recording media products to the environment by allowing tapes to be recycled and used again. But, now, it has become the only way to keep productions on schedule and prevent a slowdown to the television and film production industry.
“It was very fortunate that we invested in the equipment and expertise needed to properly recycle tapes when we did”, said Michael Cullen, President and co-owner of Media Distributors. “This is not something you can learn to do overnight. It is a complicated process and you need the right people and equipment to do it correctly”, said Cullen. “We are confident that we can supply our customers with the top quality tape stock they need to get them through this situation.”
Sustainability of Recertified Media
Media Distributors’ tape recycling services includes evaluating each tape in special machines, which test each tape for defects and certifies them for reuse. There are many factors which determine whether a given tape can be certified for reuse. The integrity of the product is extremely important in HD production, and there is a limit to how many times a tape can be reused. Therefore, at some point, the supply of new tapes must resume.
“We are working with all our major media partners to obtain more top quality used tapes for recertification”, said Daly. “The value of the used tape itself is secondary to the high cost of the complicated and time-consuming process of cleaning and certification.”
Management of Recorded Content
Before this crisis, many users needed to keep tapes with the camera-original content recorded on them as an archive. Now however, the need to reuse these tapes means that this original content needs to be transferred to other media prior to sending the tapes to be erased and reused.
“We know that the supply of products such as hard drives, LTO tapes and other solutions is very important right now”, said Daly. “Our staff has a great deal of experience in these solutions and can help provide the right products for each customer’s unique needs.”
For more information on Media Distributors’ Green Partners Tape Recycling, call 888-889-3130, or online: www.mediadistributors.com/recycling
About Media Distributors:
Founded in 1998, Media Distributors has been the premier supplier of video and data recording media, hard drives, CD/DVD/BD disc media and equipment, and associated products to the entertainment and broadcast production community. The company offers a wide range of products and services used in production, from acquisition through archival.
