The arrival of the "magnetic media crisis" where VHS video tapes and the like can not be seen is near

ByJack Lawrence

With the spread of next generation recording media such as DVD / Blu-ray discs and HDD / SD cards, magnetic media such as VHS which records signals on magnetic tape has become a relic of the previous era. Although VHS in which video was recorded at the heyday should still exist everywhere, it is suggested that the information recorded on the magnetic tape deteriorates and disappears in 15 to 20 years, and the existing "The crisis of magnetic media" is about to come.

VHS Tapes: How Archivists Are Working To Save Them: All Tech Considered: NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/06/03/529155865/videotapes-are-becoming-unwatchable-as-archivists-work-to-save-them

Magnetic tapes that can record sounds and images are used on video tapes, but as they degrade over time, magnetic recordings are eventually lost. According to research by National Media Laboratory, the life of information recorded on the magnetic tape is "15 to 20 yearsAlthough it is suggested that it is suggested that many videotapes were used in the 1980's and 1990's, information recorded from almost all existing magnetic tapes is about to be lost .

In part, this state is called "magnetic media crisis", but a non-profit organization aiming to archive valuable information "XFR Collective(Transfer · Collective) ", some volunteers volunteer to digitize VHS information and archive it. Mary Kid of XFR Collective, a few people and colleagues work to digitize VHS data facing the crisis every Monday night with high quality using an oscilloscope vector scope / waveform monitor It is said that it is going.


Both of these tasks require professional skills, but Kid's volunteers are doing maintenance work of VHS by using the actual free time. Because the team is not being forced by someone, the air of the team seems to be peaceful, but there is a deadline which "invisible life of VHS" is imminent there.

American Film and Television Engineers AssociationHoward Rook, director of SMPTE, said, "Once a magnetically recorded tape has deteriorated too much over time, it will never be read again." Mr. Luke expects VHS reaching billions in sleep somewhere as it will have a lifetime. However, there are few people who know that VHS, which recorded important memories in the past, continues to deteriorate while sleeping in the closet, so valuable information can be lost.

Some of them offer services to convert VHS data digitally, but some are free, others require expensive expenses. This is because digitization of VHS is a very troublesome work. In order to digitize magnetic data with high quality like Kid's senior, play back the information recorded on the tape from the beginning to the end It is necessary to have. If there is a problem in the middle of the process, there are cases where the hand is stopped seeking solutions and the number of VHS stored in the nonprofit digital archive so far is only 155, which is 67 hours in total.

Many of the VHS digitized by Kid and others are sent from people who accept personal content such as someone's wedding ceremony recorded several decades ago and accepted to be released in the digital archive That things and things. There seems to be some people who are already dying in the VHS, but it means "I feel familiar as old friends" during work. However, the team of volunteers said, "These intimate and personal history will disappear if someone does, so we concentrate on this task."


In addition to the VHS digitization service, there are several ways to digitize videotape data, so if you are sleeping important videotape somewhere, before the recorded information reaches the end of life It seems good to keep it.