VCR's are so common today (compared to the number of N1500's in the 70's) that I don't think anyone will have a problem finding a VHS player in years to come.
I'm certainly not backing up anything from VHS seeing as anything I have still plays correctly however old the tape is (1981!) and it would take me too long to do it for a start.
Wouldn't that require a recorder capable of dual-layer recording?
I didn't think there was a stand-alone deck available with dual layer, but having just looked it would seem Pioneer's range have it as standard. Thanks!
Wouldn't that require a recorder capable of dual-layer recording?
I didn't think there was a stand-alone deck available with dual layer, but having just looked it would seem Pioneer's range have it as standard. Thanks!
My Sony RDR-HXD710 does it too, I must buy a blank DL disc and make sure it works !
Reading this you might think it's best to leave your video collections on video, but as fewer VCRs are sold that will not be a viable option. So what's the answer?
I also have thought of putting my old VHS's onto DVD, but when you think about it from a collectors point of view, what would you rather have, a shelf full of VHSs in their proper original cases with proper labels which 'might' degrade in years to come if you don't look after them properly, or a shelf full of DVDs, unlabelled with the name of the show written in a highlighter pen?
Plus as you say DVDs are even more volatile than VHS, especially recordable ones which are built so cheaply nowadays and will probably last half a year if not treated properly.
What i've been doing so far is capturing the most valuable things onto my Mac in their uncompressed format, so if i do want to put them on a format in the future which i can view on a proper TV i can. It will also keep the interlacing and all that so the look remains what it should be. Problem with that of course is the space it takes up. Luckily Hard Drive space is becoming a lot cheaper, you can now a terrabyte of external storage for under £300 now. And as long as you backup, theres no reason why the footage should be lost.
I also keep the original tapes just in case though.
I've never got round to finding a way of transferring video off old tapes onto my PC. There's hundreds of old tapes lurking around, most of which would probably contain bits of old pres that are just dying to be saved before the wiping monster comes to eat them.
What about getting a graphics card with a video or S-video in socket for input, buying a cheap VCR which has video/L audio/R audio outputs, and running the tapes through the VCR and across to the machine?
Just to add to the list of things I'd have to do, it would certainly need a bigger hard drive.