Archive VHS Tapes

25 May 2006 4:16 PM

Rick

Hello All,
I could not find a satisfying answer to this question out there.
I have many old VHS Tapes.
I also have the means to copy all of these to Mini DV.
My question is Should I do this?
Am I really future proofing these. I thougt that the VHS tapes degrade
over time,
and the Mini DV tapes, being that they are digital will last many many
times
longer. Is this true or is this just a waste of my time?

Please Advise,
Rick

25 May 2006 5:59 PM

PTravel

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"Rick" <Rick_Wa***@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1148573808.393140.233680@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hello All,
> I could not find a satisfying answer to this question out there.
> I have many old VHS Tapes.
> I also have the means to copy all of these to Mini DV.
> My question is Should I do this?
> Am I really future proofing these. I thougt that the VHS tapes degrade
> over time,
> and the Mini DV tapes, being that they are digital will last many many
> times
> longer. Is this true or is this just a waste of my time?
>
> Please Advise,
> Rick
>

Properly stored analog tapes can last 30 years or more. Digital recordings
are probably more robust. Digitizing VHS is easy and, if done correctly,
provides an archival format that is readily translated to new and as-yet
uninvented media with no loss of quality. I am, slowly, in the process of
digitizing my analog video.

25 May 2006 6:17 PM

Gene E. Bloch

On 5/25/2006, PTravel posted this:
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> "Rick" <Rick_Wa***@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1148573808.393140.233680@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>> Hello All,
>> I could not find a satisfying answer to this question out there.
>> I have many old VHS Tapes.
>> I also have the means to copy all of these to Mini DV.
>> My question is Should I do this?
>> Am I really future proofing these. I thougt that the VHS tapes degrade
>> over time,
>> and the Mini DV tapes, being that they are digital will last many many
>> times
>> longer. Is this true or is this just a waste of my time?
>>
>> Please Advise,
>> Rick
>>
>
> Properly stored analog tapes can last 30 years or more. Digital recordings
> are probably more robust. Digitizing VHS is easy and, if done correctly,
> provides an archival format that is readily translated to new and as-yet
> uninvented media with no loss of quality. I am, slowly, in the process of
> digitizing my analog video.

I'd like to add a *strong* recommendation. If you decide to dub to
miniDV, do *not* use the LP mode on the new recordings.

It is tempting, since a 6-hr VHS recording would then fit onto 4 tapes
instead of 6. However, the manufacturers and some anecdotes on these
NGs indicate that an LP tape may not be playable on any camcorder or
deck other than the one you recorded it on.

If the original deck dies, you are forced to play it on a different
deck, and so you might be up the creek.

AFAIK, there are no problems with 80-minute miniDV tapes, as long as
you record them in standard mode.

Gino

--
Gene E. Bloch (Gino)
letters617blochg3251
(replace the numbers by "at" and "dotcom")