Importance of Tape Digitalization

Most of us have a stack of our favorite, video and audio tapes that are too
old but we find it hard to throw them as they have lots of memories of good
old times. Yet we worry about them getting ruined by lying around in boxes,
somewhere in attic.

It is very important to archive the old tapes before they are ruined forever.
It is for the simple reason that magnetic tape is a sophisticated material. It
has a limited life and with the passage of time, the particles on the tape
start coming off, making the tapes useless. There are so many old movies and
even episodes of old TV serials, that could not be find anywhere as they were
never digitized and were lost forever with the deterioration of the magnetic
tape, containing them.

Life of old videotapes also depend on your ability to store them properly, i.e.
under appropriate temperature and humidity levels. Changes in temperature and
humidity levels can have a damaging effect on the old tapes. Lots of these
video / audio tapes get seriously damaged in transportation. If a tape is left
out in the car during hot weather or is exposed to sun for too long, the tape
inside the cassette would melt and the data would be lost. The tape should
never be exposed to temperature above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

The best position to store tapes is sideways. If you store them by stacking
them flat on top of each other, tape might get warped by sticking in a
position for too long.

But, in today's digital world, the best way to store your old favorite tapes
is to get them digitized. So, you won't loose any old data, pictures, audio or
movies. Not only that, you get your data available at a simple click of your
hand. Imagine the convenience of not having to look again through that old
trunk to find your favorite old movie or pictures,

So, doesn't matter if you have old tapes in any of the following formats;

1"

3/4"Umatic

Beta cam SP (all formats)

Digibeta (all formats)

SD and HD Digital (all formats)

NTSC/PAL

you can get them digitized in to any modern format and can play them in any of
the modern equipments. Of course, the old formats were great too but they are
not compatible with today's equipments, also, with the passage of time, they
might deteriorate. Which makes their repair and maintenance quite expensive and
hard to keep. So, it's best to get them converted to today's format and
increase their life span.

For more information about Tape Transfer, Trans coding, Digital Conversion,
Digital Media Distribution, Digital Media Management, Digital Media Asset
Management, Encoding Services, Digital asset management or Digital Media
Conversion, please visit http://dmdi.tv/digitizing.html.