Digitize Home Videos, Tapes, & Film Before Video Degradation

A close up of a VHS tape

Whether you’re reminiscing in treasured home movies or finding footage of loved ones, there’s nothing like watching old home movies and films. But what you might not know is that many types of older media, such as VHS tapes, 35mm film, and other formats degrade over time. Video degradation can happen in a few ways. Whether due to time, improper handling, or both, degradation affects the quality of your old media formats.

Fortunately, you can potentially avoid film and magnetic tape deterioration by understanding how these situations occur. Here’s a closer look at four common ways media can degrade over time.

Sticky Shed Syndrome Causes Magnetic Tape Deterioration

An old tape reel displaying video degradation

Often, the degradation of magnetic media happens due to sticky-shed syndrome. Magnetic tapes feature binders that help contain oxide coatings. These binders can break down due to time, improper storage conditions, or both.

Sticky-shed syndrome occurs when moisture from the air interacts with the polyurethane to make the surface sticky. Think of it like dried glue absorbing water and becoming sticky again. Using tapes afflicted with sticky-shed syndrome can damage tape players and the affected media itself.

The best way to stop this situation from causing tape and video degradation is by baking your media. This doesn’t mean baking tapes in your home’s oven. Instead, let Two Squares use its professional-grade equipment and expert-level technicians to bake and dry your media carefully.

Magnetic Tape Deterioration Over Time

Even in normal conditions, older media formats like videotapes, cassettes, and other forms of magnetic media slowly decay over time. Unfortunately, time-related data decay doesn’t just happen to VHS tapes or your favorite cassettes. 

As the magnetic fields inside magnetic media lose their strength, it will result in decayed or damaged data. If left unresolved, these forms of media can become impossible to view or listen to.

The only way to stop further time-based audio and video degradation is by transferring your beloved media to a digital format. Two Squares can convert your audio and video to digital formats, including CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, or hard drives and flash drives.

Excessive Use

Whether moving your old media or preparing to display it, excessive handling can also cause magnetic tape and film deterioration. While they’re not visible to the human eye, our hands can contain oil, grease, dirt, and other media-damaging substances.

Excessively handling older media can deposit unwanted dirt and grime onto your treasured films and audio tapes.

Preserve Your Home Videos, Tapes, and Film with Two Squares

The best way to preserve treasured media and avoid video degradation is by contacting Two Squares. Our company offers professional-grade media capture and conversion services. We use our tools and knowledge to carefully capture and convert your old films, music, photos, and more to digital formats. Having digitally stored media lets you preserve treasured memories for many years to come.

Benefits Of Converting VHS To DVDs

video jar

Videotapes have been in use for a long time. A few decades ago, they felt like a novel, cutting-edge technology that let you capture precious moments and replay the footage later on. Reminiscing over old home movies is always fun, especially when the whole family is present. What a sweet memory it is to remember your kids’ first steps and words! Then there are movies jam-packed with giggles, your kids’ antics, and even some of your own that were caught on camera.

Are such videos not worth their weight in gold, in your opinion? Most definitely! From your favorite childhood movies to the family home movies you watch together, those VHS cassettes can bring back a lot of wonderful memories.

VHS tapes are no longer relevant due to advancements in technology. Since the last VHS player was produced in 2016, the most recent blockbusters have not been released on VHS. The era of the tape has passed with the advent of DVDs and Blu-rays.

Although that is the case, what are you supposed to do with all the cassettes you have piled up in storage?

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Home Video Restoration Minnesota

Brooklyn Park Media TranferChances are that kids who have been born over the last 10 to 15 years have never used or watched an old VHS Video or camcorder tape. With digital technology growing exponentially over the last few decades, the entire home video landscape has changed. No more do we watch VHS tapes of your favorite home movie. Instead, your family crowds around a computer, tablet, or cell phone and the home movie is played instantly. You may have been asking yourself lately, what is there to do with all of these old home videos that are stuffed in boxes, taking up useful attic space? Well, if you live in Minnesota, Two Squares, your media preservation experts have the answer. Team up with our Minnesota media conversion specialists to digitize those old memories into useful digital formats.

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Film, Video and Audio Conversion in Brooklyn Park MN

Pro Media ConversionIt is impossible to put a price on your memories and the video, film and audio that has captured special moments in your life are simply priceless. Keeping them current and usable is difficult given the constant technology changes and upgrades. Fortunately, you can now transfer all of your film, video and audio to easily accessible digital format without breaking the bank. Two Squares is Minnesota’s media conversion experts, providing outstanding service to local customers as well as those who mail their outdated media to us for conversion.

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VHS to DVD Transfer Services Minnesota

VHS to DVD MinnesotaLots of Minnesotans still have VHS tapes with precious memories stored on them. Tucked away in the back of home entertainment centers, those tapes hold memories that will one day excite grandchildren. But those tapes are deteriorating and Two Squares digital transfer service can help. As more and more people switch to flat screen TVs and clean out those big, bulky entertainment centers and trade them in for wall mounts and sleek, wire-free stands, they find those VHS tapes and wonder what to do with them. The VCR was thrown away years ago in favor of DVD players, Blue-Ray, and internet streaming services. And now there’s nothing with which to see those cherished memories (perhaps of a child’s first words, a trip to Niagara Falls, or a piano recital). This is just one reason why you should have those VHS tapes converted to DVDs, so you will always be able to watch those precious moments. Continue reading “VHS to DVD Transfer Services Minnesota”

VHS to DVD Transfer Minneapolis MN

Minneapolis VHS to DVD ServicesIf your precious memories are stored on VHS tapes and you haven’t gotten around to transferring them to a digital format, what are you waiting for? The best time to do a VHS to DVD conversion is while the VHS tape is in its best condition. Unfortunately VHS technology was not meant to last forever. Videotapes that are 10 years old or older have already begun to fade away. Favorite home movies that have been watched over and over have most likely been damaged by wear, humidity, heat and time. The experts at Two Squares, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN are well aware of the Importance of Updating to DVD. Continue reading “VHS to DVD Transfer Minneapolis MN”

VHS to DVD Minneapolis

Minneapolis VHS to DVD ConversionA large number of Minneapolis residents have VHS tapes sitting around the home. The Importance of updating from VHS to DVD format is compounded when the footage is irreplaceable. Precious memories are at risk of being lost due to the outdated technology of these magnetic tapes. Image quality degrades over time and content can be lost if it is not converted to digital. VHS Tape to DVD Conversion at Two Squares, Inc. is the best way to copy and preserve special occasion and wedding videos that cannot be replaced. Continue reading “VHS to DVD Minneapolis”