Video tapes

[Guest guest]

Gravity? :-o Oh dear...

I just stick them on shelves like books. In their original cardboard box (I

tape these boxes together by the dozen and cover each set with wallpaper.

Then they are easy to stack. Films that are full I put with right side up,

and films that still have space to tape I put upside down so as to be easy

to spot when you wish to record something real quick (though now I just use

my HD-DVD for recording).

I do try to keep them away from electric appliances to avoid being erased by

magnetic fields, but they may well have been subjected to heat, cold AND

gravity. :-(

I agree that it's very sad when information and works of art get lost.

Couldn't these films be moved to a more stable medium and restored?

Inger

Re: Re: funny: story by world-famous

science-fiction writer takes a swipe at the must-cure-autism folks

Also the tape can stretch from gravity if they aren't rotated... the

oxide-layer (where the information is) can separate from plastic

backing (the glue ages)... the backing can harden from temperature

and age... Tape is only good for a few years unless you take " very

good care of it " that means retentioning it on a regular basis and

not letting gravity always be in the same direction...

Anything that is made from layers will fail given time... CD's,

Laserdiscs, and DVD are more stable then Tape which is vastly more

stable the Photographic film used to be... The movies made as

recently as the 60's were made using Nitrate based film and many that

were not copied to modern chemically stable film stock have been

forever lost... IMHO it is sad anytime any form of information is

forever lost.

Ender

At 04:36 PM 3/9/2006, you wrote:

>If they are near electricity for prolonged periods of time, it will

>erase the tape.

>

>If they are exposed to excessive heat, cold, or light, it will spoil

>the tape.

>

>Tom

>Administrator

>

>

>

>Why do video tapes get strange when they're just sitting there in my

>cupboard? Do I have to throw them out when they start going funny on

>me?

>

>Inger

FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and

acceptance. Everyone is valued.

Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the

folder marked " Other FAM Sites. "