Once you have transferred your videos onto DVD or digital. Its important to know how to make sure that they will last as long as possible. Even if you haven’t get a chance to transfer your home videos, there are certain measures to keep your tapes safe until you’re ready.
Here are the three ways to store your tapes longer:
1) Store them in a dry cool place, such as a closet. Moisture will damage the magnetic tape, if you have VHS, Hi8, or MiniDV mediums as your storage preference. They will also damage hard drives and DVDs over time as well. I’ve seen mold built up on VHS and Hi8 tapes found near the Earth’s equator, they are very difficult to remove. Hard drive’s dated back in the early 90s are now breaking down. That’s certainly something you don’t want happen on your family memories.
2) Keep away from the sun. The sun’s UV rays damages a lot of things including your skin. It can damage your video tapes as well. On DVDs, it can alter the information on the disc itself which will lead to the loss of information and unreadable material.
3) Store in a temperate controlled environment. Fluctuations in temperature are not good for video tapes and sensitive electronic devices. A side walk cracks because of inconsistent temperature’s throughout the year, your videos can have a similar consequence. It may not crack, but it can deteriorate the magnetic tape further, and can make it fragile over time.
As I explained in the last article, our technologies will change. If you want to keep your family history, memories & traditions, we have to continue to convert our footage into the next generation of format storage in order to insure that future generations will have a chance to see their own history.