Quality, Not Price, Is the Rule for Buying Blank Videotapes : Shopping: Industry experts say that major brand tapes are sharper and more durable than Brand X’s.

Perplexed when it comes to buying blank videocassettes? Join the crowd.

“Our research shows that consumers are very confused when it comes to blank videotapes,” said Joe Fusco, Sony’s vice president of consumer tape products.

You can simplify things somewhat by remembering two points when buying a six-hour VHS blank: First, one tape is not as good as another. Inexpensive tapes made by obscure companies--sometimes known as “Brand X” tapes--don’t perform as well as major-brand tapes and are not as durable.

Second, the difference between standard- and high-grade tapes of major brands is insignificant. Spending a few extra dollars for the “best” tape isn’t necessary.

These conclusions are the results of discussions with home-video industry personnel, retailers and engineers, and of tests done by Consumer Reports and Video magazine. In Video’s test, the Brand X tapes were high in dropouts--spots and streaks resulting in imperfections in the tape’s coating--and visual noise. The biggest problem with the off-brand tapes, though, is that they tend to flake after extended use, with the particles fouling the VCR heads.

The brands that performed worst, Video said, were Master Chrome and Super Gold.

The consensus view, supported by the magazine tests, is that consumers should stick to major brands, such as Sony, Fuji, TDK, Maxell, Scotch, BASF, JVC, Polaroid and Memorex.

The Consumer Reports study emphasized, however, that there’s little difference in performance between the majors’ standard and high grades, and that, consequently, it isn’t worth paying the few extra dollars for the top of the line.

But some manufacturers take exception to that conclusion.

Brian Miller, Fuji’s product manager for consumer video products, said that there is a physical difference between standard- and high-grade tape: The latter are manufactured by more refined techniques, have a smoother surface and a denser network of particles.

“Higher-grade tapes are stronger and more durable,” insisted Sony’s Fusco. “When you’re doing something like using a camcorder to record something you want to keep and play over and over, a high-grade tape is your best bet.”

Here’s another tip for videotape shoppers:

Marketing campaigns have convinced some consumers that a special hi-fi tape is needed to get the best quality sound on hi-fi VCRs. But it’s not true. A simple test will prove it. Record part of a movie (cable systems repeat movies often enough to make such a test easy) on a special hi-fi tape and on any major brand non-hi-fi tape, and you won’t hear any difference.