[offtopic]
That reminded me, will air port/mall metal detectors mess up tapes? I always wanted to find out. [/offtopic]
Marc,
Unlike film, tapes are magnetic. Bringing tapes near strong magnets (imagine an MRI machine in a hospital), would help rid yourself of info on the tape. Even leaving them near low-level magnetic fields (near a TV for example) for long periods will degrade the information on the tape. x-ray machines for your luggage shouldn't damage the tapes (unlike film). On the other hand, metal detectors, I think operate via magnetic fields (and changes within them) and as such are apt to degrade magnetic media such as DV Tapes with suitable exposure times. Having said that, it probably takes many walk throughs or sitting in the metal deector for extended periods for data loss to occur, but when all is said and done, your tape should be safer in the x-ray machine!