VHS, 8mm, Beta, U-Matic… What Should I Do?

Frightening fact: Videotapes have a limited life – usually no more than 30 years; that’s even less than the lifespan of an average bear, 40 years. This deterioration happens as the magnetic tape sheds data, ruining your tapes and memories for good.

That means you could pop in a treasured video of your baby’s first steps…only to find total sound loss, tracking issues and video blackouts.

Don’t let video damage happen to your family. How? Transfer videos digitally. By transferring VHS to DVD or convert VHS into a digital movie file, you can feel good knowing they are safe and at-the-ready to watch.

Lifespan of a video

Unfortunately, videotapes have a relatively short lifespan. In most climates, a videotape begins to degrade in 12-18 years. We have found that most videotapes over 25 years old have significant problems that cannot be corrected. Warm, humid climates can be even more harmful. Although careful storage in a cool, dry place can extend the life of your videotape, the smartest course of action is to have a high-quality digital copy made as soon as possible because those will not degrade.

FREE help to organize your videos

Most videotape collections have a variety of different types of tapes. We also find some titled, some dated, and some not. Our skilled organizers help organize the tapes by asking questions, drawing logical conclusions and then carefully numbering each tape. Our numbering system helps keep everything in proper sequence on your computer or television after digitizing. What about the untitled tapes? Don’t worry. If we can’t figure it out before digitizing, you will have the ability to rename the movie afterwards. This helps you keep the entire collection in perfect date order!

What do I get back?

Our videotape transfer system allows you to get playable DVDs, digital files on a USB flash drive or upload the files to an online storage site, like Google Drive. Many customers choose one or more of these options. You will also get properly titled files and an inventory spreadsheet showing each tape, its title and any notes from the editor. The original tapes will be returned to you, just as we received them.

Why Now?

There are three main reasons for transferring your videotapes to DVDs, HDD or other digital movie formats. The first, and most obvious, is the obsolescence of magnetic tape media and the machines needed to play them such as a VRC.

The second reason is that transfer to digital will allow you to resurrect the old home movies and memories stored on your videotapes utilizing today’s media and technology (computers, DVD players, social media, YouTube).

The last and most important reason, however, is that like all magnetic media, video tapes have a limited life expectancy – one likely much shorter than originally thought. Naturally occurring chemical processes cause degeneration of the tape and the information stored on it over time and can even cause playing problems that may damage the tape permanently.
Depending on how your videotapes have been stored and handled, how often they have been played, the original quality of the tape itself and other factors, videotape lifespan may only be a maximum of 20-30 years and as little as only 8-15 years.

This fact makes video to DVD conversion essential in order to ensure the preservation of the special moments and memories captured on video in your life and your family’s history.

Different types of videotapes

There are many different types of video cassette tapes that were in use as the media evolved through the years. It is likely your home movie collection is a mix of some or even all of these.

No matter which types of videotapes you have and how many precious memories you have captured on them – soccer games, vacation trips, junior dance recitals, weddings, birthday parties, memories of loved ones and more – we can handle the conversion process seamlessly, professionally and with utmost care.