We recently covered the story of an experiment conducted in London, which was based on doing a real world comparison of the theatre vs the cinema. The experiment used a theatre production as the test material, showing a test subject half of the production live in the theatre, then the other half at a cinema live stream of the production. Whilst this experiment was far from scientific, and it only had one test participant, the test subject was definitely a theatre sceptic, and by the end of the test the subject was a lot more interested in theatre productions. If you are wondering what VHS to digital converters have to do with this experiment, please read on.
VHS to Digital Converters
The connection is simple, with more and more mediums being used across all aspects of media production, these companies are broadening their horizons in terms of what is achievable with vintage formats. The study that we mentioned actually used a black and white filter when live streaming the production to the cinema showing, and production companies are starting to use various media formats within their work. So it is not just home videos from when you were a toddler that can be converted from VHS to digital, there are all kinds of new and exciting ways that this service is being used.
How Does the Process Work
The process is relatively simple and has not changed much over the years. You take any kind of analogue tape format and place it in a player, then the player plays it in real time while sending it via output cables to a digital recording device. The great thing about the companies that offer these services is that they have designated equipment that do a lot of tapes in one go, and they ensure the best conversion. Old players can be problematic for tapes if they haven’t been cleaned or serviced, and they will often damage the original tapes if you are not careful.
Tapes Will Degrade, So Don’t Wait
One thing that is little understood by most people is the fact that over time, VHS and other tape mediums will degrade. This means that over time, whether it is played or not, the magnetic strip that holds all of the tapes information will gradually become affected. If a tape is played a lot of times, the magnetic strip will become stretched and worn by the player head, and even if the tape just sits in storage this will also affect the condition of the tape. Once this damage has been done, it cannot be undone and it is therefore permanent.
Make Memories Last
In order to make sure your memories last forever, digital conversion is the best way to go. Perhaps you have some screen plays and some test footage shot during production, or you want to use video as a medium in your live stage production. The possibilities are endless, but make sure you have digital back ups off your footage for maximum security.