Have you been in a situation, you are watching a video, then all of a sudden there are scratches showing up on your favorite part? Scratches can be caused by different factors. The good news, however, is, they can be avoided if not corrected.
Consider the factors below and how to avoid them.
Humidity
Humid environments cause mold that can grow on any surface. We all know the effects mold has on items including clothes and papers. Videotapes are not any different.
Mold erases content on the videotapes and could lead to your videos not playing at all or playing in different bits. How can this be avoided?
Always ensure you store your videotapes in a cool and dry environment. Extremely moist surfaces increase humid conditions, such as the bathroom and kitchen. Keep your tapes in well-lit laces as well. Light has a warming effect and makes it hard for mold to grow.
High temperatures
Just like any other material, when exposed to extremely high temperatures, videotapes can deteriorate. So, they should be stored at an optimum temperature.
Videotapes store information under magnetic conditions. When ferromagnets are exposed to high temperatures, they shift their position, meaning the information stored is distorted.
To avoid this, keep your tapes away from heat-emitting items such as electric or firewood fireplaces, or any other places that emit high temperatures.
Stretching
A lot of us always insert a pen or use our fingers to rewind tapes to play or replay our favorite parts. By accident, one can stretch the inner reels and this leads to loss of the recordings.
This can be avoided by looking for the best company to transfer 8mm film to DVD. On the other hand, always ensure you are cautious when rewinding the videotape. Also, keep away from children who might try to imitate what you do when rewinding the reels.
Contact
Did you know that, just as compact disks, information can be lost on a videotape when touched by the human hand?
This can be avoided by always keeping the videotape in its case and keeping away from children. Also, be careful not to touch the inner reels, as they store the information and can get scratches or get lost when touched by the human hand.
Dropping
As mentioned earlier, information is stored on the videotapes using magnetic fields. From physics, magnetic lines are aligned with those of the earth. When exposed to too much force, such as hitting the ground, the magnetic lines misalign.
Dropping the tape on the ground also causes dust to accumulate on the tape and can cause the video to hang when playing on the DVD.
Always be careful when handling the videotapes and ensure they do not fall on hard surfaces. Always train yourself and the people you share the videotapes with to return them to their storage cases after use. This will prevent data loss and dust accumulation.
In conclusion, taking care of a videotape is not as hard. However, one has to be careful to ensure the information stored is not lost.