Why is it a bad thing to store video tapes on their side rather than standing up bookshelf style? What is the average life expectancy for typical video tape stored in best possible conditions?
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Why is it a bad thing to store video tapes on their side rather than standing up bookshelf style?
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The Association of Cinema and Video Laboratories (http://www.acvl.org) says “Videotapes should be stored vertically so as not to induce a telescoping of the tape, which will cause the tape to unwind unevenly as it plays or records.” In addition, storing tapes horizontally increases the likelihood of edge damage and necessitates horizontal stacking for storage, which is inadvisable (from an archival standpoint).
From an archival standpoint again, not long at all. In its report on TV & video preservation, the Library of Congress wrote, “Next to nitrocellulose film, videotape is probably the next best medium for a society which did not wish to be reminded of its past.” This site (http://lcweb.loc.gov/film/tvstudy.html) goes into much greater detail, but here are a few excerpts:
“As an electronic medium, the manufacture of videotape follows the dictates of the market place with its demands for cost-effective, smaller, and higher performance formats,
improvements that may lack any relationship to longevity. As video production formats, 2-inch quadraplex and 3/4-inch U-matic were viable for about 15 years; now formats seem to change every four or five years with a bewildering array of incompatible options. Given the rate of technological evolution since 1956, a clear consensus exists among archivists and technical experts that the real problem of video preservation is how to cope with technological obsolescence. This phenomenon has reached acute proportions in respect of the copying of 2-inch tapes and open-reel 1/2-inch EIAJ tapes, for which it is already difficult to locate and maintain appropriate equipment and technicians experienced with these formats.”
“In 1991 Sony’s best estimate of longevity for these materials was about 15 years. 3M indicated that its research was consistent with Sony’s. Maxell declined to predict any life expectancy for its tape products, and a TDK representative indicated he knew of no published data on tape life expectancy by his company, BASF, and that 15 years was a good guess. Evidently manufacturers have been reluctant to provide any assurance for the extended life expectancy of their videotape products.”
“The aging properties of magnetic tape is a field that requires more research. There is no agreed upon system for evaluating tape formats. Adhesion, friction, and hydrolysis have been proposed as physical tests for standard evaluation and accelerated age testing, but Japanese tape manufacturers would not cooperate with industry efforts to create and implement standardized tests. Three American companies who were participating have all but ceased their activities in this area. There are currently no standard methods for determining life expectancies of videotape, making it difficult if not impossible to compare data from different manufacturers.”
In addition, when we talk about “best possible conditions”, we mean storing them in temperature controlled environments (say, 50F and 25% relative humidity), winding through them annually, keeping them in closed plastic cases and away from environments with dirt, sunlight, water, air-borne pollutants or magnetic fields. Oh, and played rarely (if at all). Even the largest archives are hard-pressed to follow all these guidelines, what with overhead costs and all. And then, how long will the tape last? 30 years? 50? Nobody knows for sure, but it is commonly agreed upon that transferring the video to film will, in all likelihood, double its life expectancy (at least, if the film is also stored properly)
I just popped my oldest videotape (Kodak brand) recorded in mid-1986. It is a mix of cable and off-air recordings made on a Panasonic TOP LOAD VCR. It still looks pretty good. The tape has usually been kept on a shelf in the vertical orientation, except for about a year when it was kept in a storage box (in the same house). It has survived 5 different moves and at least 10 different VCRs. The only problem I’ve noticed with the Kodak tapes is that the clear leader part of the tape tends to degrade. DON’T EVER USE A TAPE REWINDER!! I’ve snapped a few leaders off in those contraptions. VCR’s use a light sensor to know when the end of the tape is near (hence the clear part) and stops the tape with a few inches to spare. Most rewinders use pressure to stop the tape. Unfortunately, the Kodaks can’t handle the stress and the leader snaps off. As for my credentials, I’ve been taping since 1986 and have accumulated well over 1100 tapes of my own creation. I have used virtually every name brand (and a few off brand, MISTAKE) of tape. The best I’ve seen are Scotch (no longer being manufactured) and currently Maxell. I have brutally murdered at least 10 new and used VCR’s. I used to buy the used decks at pawn shops, but recently new ones have dropped in price to rival the used ones and I get a one-year warranty (usually).
As for the OP, I have found that, if the tape is wound straight on the reel, storing them horizontally isn’t usually a problem, but that’s just me.