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Video Art / Media Art Preservation: Studies and Suggestions THE DANISH VIDEO ART DATA BANK |
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Video Art / Media Art Preservation: Studies and Suggestions THE DANISH VIDEO ART DATA BANK |
Speaking of older tapes e.g.
analogue recorded video tapes, you might ask: What are the preservation issues?
media degradation and a double problem of obsolescence:
format obsolescence and
hardware/machinery
obsolescence.
Because of the high
data transfer rates demanded by video recording magnetic tape has been the medium choice
for video formats - at least up to
now/recently – but magnetic tape was never designed as a long-term storage medium but
primarily designed to be easy to record, easy to replay and easy to copy. And the
degradation is not only due to this inherent instability of video tapes but also because
magnetic tapes is not a stable material at the most common ambient storage temperature and
relative humidity. If the tape is accessed /playbacked
very often and on different quality of playback devices it wear out the
tape, but even in storage unused tapes will decay over time.
Surveys of videotape formats introduced since about 1955-56 list more than 60 different
formats. Many of these formats are based on and are upgrading of earlier formats but many
was or are also new and different from earlier formats Many of these formats had a very
short life time and are now obsolescence.
Even if the life of your older tapes are still in good conditions and even if their life
can be maximized, by good conservation and management practice and by ideal storage
conditions this is of no value if it outlives the technology required to reproduce it: you
might not be able to play them because you might not be able any more to get hold in the
playback machinery needed for the old tape format. The hardware is not produced any more
and those old playback devises that still might exist are often poorly maintained and
therefor not able to give optimal playback. It is not only difficult to get repair parts
but there is also a scarcity of expertise concerning how to maintain, repair and operate
“vintage” playback devices