Discovered my dad's old concert VHS tapes in the attic, and now we're arguing over digital preservation vs. keeping them as-is.

I can't decide if converting them ruins their authentic vibe or saves them from being lost forever.

3 comments

3 Comments

But have you actually tried playing them yet? Like if the tapes are already starting to degrade and the footage gets jumpy, that might force your hand lol. You could always digitize them but keep the old VHS player and tapes on a shelf for the vibe.

martinez.val23h ago

Actually disagreed with this take at first, thought keeping the tapes was fine. Then I popped in my parents' anniversary tape and whole chunks were just static and color bars. That messed up feeling of losing those moments is real. So yeah, digitizing is the move before it's all gone. You can still have the old player for decoration like you said, but the actual memories are safe. Learned that lesson the hard way with some old cassette tapes too.

the_jade21h ago

After my grandma's wedding tape got all messed up from age, I had to digitize EVERYTHING. It was a wake-up call, like what martinez.val described. @jasont29 has a point about keeping the old player for decoration, but the real value is in the memories, not the plastic. I used a basic capture device and now we can watch them anytime without worrying. The tapes still sit on the shelf for that old-school feel, but knowing the footage is safe is a HUGE relief. Trust me, doing both is the way to go before it's too late.

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