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| Thread ID: 55781 | 2005-03-19 08:47:00 | More DVD info | JJJJJ (528) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 335819 | 2005-03-20 17:26:00 | I also have a VCR which seems to have packed up. I'd be delighted to move to DVD only, but can those who say the VCR is obsolete please tell me how I can play the boxes of tapes I've recorded over 20 years or so without replacing it? After all, there have to be SOME irreplacable pearls amongst the stuff I probably don't ever want to view again. And how can I remember which is junk without viewing it? (Or did you guys always label every news item perfectly with date & content before you put the tape box away?) Murphy's Law says I'll have major yearnings to review heaps of old stuff immediately the relevant hardware's been tossed out, of course. So videotape will have some of us in its grip for a while yet... And I'll be giving John 5 minutes to check out the new format - then probably back to Susan. |
Laura (43) | ||
| 335820 | 2005-03-20 21:53:00 | please tell me how I can play the boxes of tapes I've recorded over 20 years or so without replacing it? If you really do have 20 year old tapes I think you would only try to play them once before they practically destroy the VCR heads as the oxide peels off..... |
godfather (25) | ||
| 335821 | 2005-03-21 04:32:00 | godfather: So much for the "durability" promises when they were bought... Yes, a few of them will be that old (though well-stored), so it may be an interesting exercise - preferably with an/several? old VCRs nobody wants. A scavenging visit to the tip may be called for... |
Laura (43) | ||
| 335822 | 2005-03-21 04:43:00 | If you really do have 20 year old tapes I think you would only try to play them once before they practically destroy the VCR heads as the oxide peels off..... Well, I'd rarely differ with your much valued opinions GF but in this instance I must. Oxide problems depend on the tape quality. I have several National branded tapes dating back to some years before VCRs were introduced to NZ. At my best guess they are around 28 years old and still play like new ones. The rest of my archive runs forward from there, but many tapes are over 20 years old and although I too intend to convert them to DVD, they all play just fine. My biggest problem with oxide shedding actually comes from much more modern tapes that have been well used, but it doesn't destroy the heads. All I have to do is give them a blast with aerosol head cleaner, let it dry properly and away we go. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 335823 | 2005-03-21 05:12:00 | Thanks for the reassurance, Billy. Maybe all is not lost, after all. |
Laura (43) | ||
| 335824 | 2005-03-21 06:09:00 | On the basis that a 20 year old tape was probably a "major name brand" such as Panasonic, you may indeed have a better chance. Unfortunately when the supermarkets started selling junk tapes, I would not extend that confidence to such media. I have experienced tape degredation on middle-of-the-road (SKC from memory) quality and also on some very early tapes (Unbranded but were supposed to be Panasonic for educational market) - the latter lasted only 10 years and were unplayable. But the storage conditions as previously mentioned are probably the key issue. I have just realised how easy it should now be to backup VHS to DVD with a DVD recorder though, feed in the signals from VHS AV and press "record" on the DVD player. Beats shagging about with video capture on the PC. |
godfather (25) | ||
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