-- Jessica Rosner Kino International 333 W 39th St. 503 NY NY 10018 jrosner@kino.com> From: CATARCHIVE@aol.com > Reply-To: videolib@library.berkeley.edu > Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 15:44:50 -0800 (PST) > To: Multiple recipients of list <videolib@library.berkeley.edu> > Subject: re oldest videotape still OK > > Oldest living videotape? The video originals in our archive go back to 1968, > and some U-matics from that date are still good. Also some 2-inch stuff from > that period. (Yet I've seen late 70's material that's unplayable now.) Of > course, age alone is not the question; tape stock, storage conditions, etc. > impinge on longevity. And when it comes to 2-inch there is an age-induced > process of "banding" that will eventually make nearly all color tapes of that > old format look as if they were printed on African flags. There is no > reason, however, to rely on antique tapes remaining healthy....transfer them > anyway. Any format you choose will be technically obsolete in a year or > two....art is long and video is short...so bite the bullet and just do it. We > use D2 and have been very satisfied with it. > Stephan Chodorov > Creative Arts Television