Posted by gerry on 04/12/07 15:25

On Apr 12, 9:26 am, "SFTVratings" <SFTVratings_t...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Kevin wrote:
>
> > You mentioned transferring VHS to DVD in your original post? If so, I
> > missed that --- totally. Good for you. You are taking the time and
> > expending the effort to get those classic films and other pieces of video
> > archived in a format that will stand the ravages of time
>
> Disagree. Recordable DVDs rely upon a dye to preserve the
> information. That dye, even if protected from sunlight, will fade
> over time. Current estimate is as short as 5 years time.
>
> The videotape is the better format for long-term storage.

The jury is out on the longevity of dyes in DVDR blanks. Storing the
data on multiple formats (VHS tape, DVDR, ISO image on hard drive)
will provide some insurance against video loss. From my experience,
fast rewinding old VHS tape recordings (15 years old or more) can
cause the magnetic particles to shed. VCRs with the superfast rewind
function do the most damage to old tapes. So having a DVDR version
for playback makes sense.

>From my personal experience and from other postings, VHS tapes made
after 1991 are lower quality and more prone to decay. Fuji Super HG
tapes have held up the best for me and TDK HS tapes are the worst.
All of my old tapes recorded at EP speed are nearing the end of the
line, some only playing well on a JVC vhs machine with the video
calibration function on (video stabilization, using the built-in TBC,
wipes out closed captioning, so I rarely use it).

VHS player/recorders are going the way of record players. Anyone
wanting to keep a copy of a video recording for the future should
transfer the video to DVDR, whatever the longevity concerns of the
DVDR dyes. Trouble is, these transfers take a lot of real time DVD
recorder time.

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