Top 5 reasons video tapes deteriorate over time

Mini DV TAPE

Created in the mid 1990s

• Storage - If the tape wasn’t stored properly in a case, it can be exposed to many different elements like: dust, insects, water, heat, mold, etc. These different elements can ruin the tape and not allow it to be read by the tape head for viewing or even transferring.

• Time - Time just never stops and that’s not always good. If your tape is only in one place, it’s practically endangered. If that single tape is damaged, your footage, your wedding, your birth video will become extinct in a sense. Once you’re tape is converted into a digital format it can be duplicated, copied, burned, uploaded, edited, and more. Most importantly it’ll be backed up in multiple places.

• Plastic Tape Material - Video tape is a magnetic plastic strip which is fairly brittle. Tape can easily jam, rip, tear, melt, snap, etc.

• Overuse - Watching your video over and over again can wear down the magnetic tape. It can also wear down your camera head for viewing and capturing.

• Obsolete Hardware - Everyday the miniDV and miniDV camera are getting harder to find. Big name brands have discontinued that hardware and only used gear is available these days, which is like buying a used car. You don’t know what the previous owner was like or what kind of maintenance was done to your camera.