Posted by Bill Vermillion on 04/15/07 04:05

In article <1176461274.012726.92030@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>,
SFTVratings <SFTVratings_troy@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Apr 12, 10:25 am, "gerry" <2gerry...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Apr 12, 9:26 am, "SFTVratings"
>>
>> > Disagree. Recordable DVDs rely upon a dye to preserve the
>> > information. That dye will fade over time.
>>
>>
>>
>> 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.
>
>
>You're correct that it's good to make backups, but that wasn't my
>initial goal. My initial goal was to refute the claim that the DVD-R
>copy will "look better" than the original VHS. A copy will never look
>better than the original.
>
>
>
>As for particle shedding, that's the result of storing them in a humid
>environment. If kept dry with an air-conditioned home and/or dry gel
>packs, the tapes will survive. Look at Twilight Zone..... 40 years
>old and the original tapes from season 2 are still good.
>
>I doubt the dyes on a recordable-DVD will last that long. The dye
>will fade.
>
>
>
>
> > VCRs with the superfast rewind function do the most
>> damage to old tapes. So having a DVD-R
>> version for playback makes sense.
>
>
>Actually, it's a good idea to "exercise" your tapes every 2-3 years
>with a fast-forward and rewind. Or just sit-down and watch the
>original tape (rather than the dvd copy).
>
>Personally:

>I have yet to experience the "flaking" problem. In fact, I'm still
>using my original tape that I bought in 1986 with my new VCR. It sees
>weekly usage, but it still works after all these years. No flaking of
>the magnetic particles.

The Ampex brand tapes were prone to that. I think they had
probably gone out of business of home video tape by that time.

>Experts claim:
>
>Various sources say that tapes made between 1975 and 1985 are the
>poorest-quality. In 1975, manufacturers were trying to replace
>natural ingredients with synthetics, and they failed. Tapes from that
>era quickly degenerate. ----- Post-1985 they discovered the problem,
>switched to more humidity-resistant plastics, and created more stable
>tapes.

My Sony Beta-I tapes from 1977 help up well. Other brands were
not to good.

Bill

--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com

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