In today's post, we are going to see how you can preserve those old VCR tapes that you have laying around:
Over the last decade VCR tape has become a favorite way of
preserving memories. VCR tape, however,
is even more fragile than color photographs and thus individuals
who use it to store family remembrances
must take great care to use it with caution.
Understanding the Problem
VCR tape is created when metal oxides, lubricants, and
plasticizers are "bound" to a "base" of clear
polyester tape. This mix of chemicals serves a variety of
purposes. Metal oxide records the magnetic
impulses that are "read" by the VCR to recreate images on a
television screen. Plasticizers help keep the
film supple so it is less likely to break or stretch. Lubricants
serve a similar purpose by helping to keep
the tape moving smoothly through the mechanical transport system
that moves the film from one spool,
past the VCR "head," the device that "reads" the magnetic pulses
recorded on the metal oxide, and on to
the other spool.
Each of the component parts of the finished tape is subject to
unique problems and a failure of any one
of them can make the tape unplayable. Because the mix of
component parts is complex even the best
quality tape can begin to degrade quite quickly, often within a
year or two after its manufacturing. Even
under ideal conditions the binder that holds together this mix of
chemicals is very delicate and it is usually
quite easy to scrape off parts of the chemicals from the base.
For whatever reason as degradation occurs
the image that is played back on a television screen becomes
poorer and poorer, until it can no longer be
viewed.
The Enemies of VCR Tape
VCR tape is subject to harm from a variety of sources. Just as
with paper and photographs heat can speed
the chemical reactions that cause the tape to fail and humidity
can encourage the growth of various
biological agents that can destroy the tape.
"Binder breakdown" is a frequent cause for tape failure. Like
all adhesive agents, as the binder ages it
begins to lose its "stick." As this happens microscopic pieces
of oxide as well as the other chemicals
imbedded in the binder slowly fall away. As each bit of oxide is
lost, a small piece of information is lost
creating various problems when the tape is played.
Because VCR tape can only be viewed by playing it through a
complicated mechanical device, a VCR,
it is also frequently damaged by mechanical problems within a
VCR. Dirt is the most frequent problem.
Dirt, even microscopic particles, if located in strategic spots
on the transport mechanism or VCR head can
cause continual scratching of the VCR tapes. Each scratch
scrapes off a bit more material from the
polyester tape base and each loss of material further degrades
the image.
Preserving VCR Tape
There is no long-term strategy for preserving VCR tape. It is
reasonable to expect that most VCR tape,
for one reason or another, will be unplayable after approximately
a decade. Within this short life-span,
however, it is possible to take steps that will keep the tape and
the images preserved on the tape, in better
condition, thus allowing for a higher quality copy of the tape to
eventually be made.
Practical suggestions for maintaining VCR tape in good condition
include:
Buy name brand VCR tape. The chemicals used by various
manufacturers, quality control practices,
and other procedures vary dramatically between manufacturers,
with "no-name" tape usually being made
as cheaply as possible. Lacking good studies on the reliability
of various brands of VCR tape, a consumer
can at least fall back on the advice that you often get what you
pay for, and buying the cheapest tape
available is asking for preservation trouble.
Make a "preservation" copy of the VCR tape as soon as it is shot.
This can be done at home by
mating two VCRs or it can be done at many shops which do VCR
repairs. Check the preservation copy
once a year, but otherwise never play it. This "pristine" copy
will serve you well when the time comes
to copy the tape onto a new tape. Pull out a second, "user" copy
of the tape to show friends, neighbors,
and relatives. Although with each viewing the user copy will
slowly degrade, the images will be
preserved in the best possible state on the "preservation" copy.
VCR tape should be viewed and rewound annually. Annual viewing
makes it possible to detect
problems before they lead to the catastrophic failure of the
tape. Annual rewinding helps avoid a number
of problems that can occur as the tightly wound VCR tape rests up
against itself.
Always use a clean, well-functioning VCR machine to play the
tape. Microscopic particles of dirt
can cause irreparable damage to the tape as it races past the VCR
head. Professional cleaning of a VCR
machine, including demagnetization of the head, is always a good
idea before the family tapes are pulled
out for their annual screening. It is particularly important to
make sure the VCR has recently been
serviced before playing the preservation copy of your tapes.
Assume VCR tape will have to be copied. The medium of tape is
very fragile and subject to a variety
of fatal harms. Plan on copying tape at least once every ten
years.
VCR Tape: A Checklist
- Make a "preservation" copy of family tapes that will be used for
subsequent copying.
- View and rewind VCR tape annually in order to find image
degradation before significant tape failure occurs.
- Play family tapes (particularly a preservation copy) through a
recently cleaned and adjusted VCR machine.
- Assume VCR tape is a temporary medium and plan on regularly
copying the tape.
