Live Out Loud Production Studio
Video Transfers
“Bring Good Memories Back To Life”
VHS and Cassette tapes are made up of a magnetic tape construction. Magnetic tape is a storage medium consisting of a magnetic coating on a thin plastic strip. Nearly all recording tape is of this type, whether video or audio. This strip (made up of iron oxide or metal particles that records the magnetic signal that stores information about your images or audio) is in contact with the drum and heads on your VCR or Cassette player. Because this plastic strip is so thin (in order to allow close proximity of the particles to the heads) it is not very durable to start with. Magnetic tape suffers from stretching, twisting, expanding and contracting which warps the tape, distorting the information and making it unstable on playback. Add to that excessive friction from normal repeated use, (especially when the manufacturer installed lubrication is gone) the natural breakdown from humidity and other environmental elements, such as high temperatures and extreme cold temperatures and you have a recipe for disaster. Eventually the strip that contains the magnetic particles will degrade totally and separate from the more durable substrate or film backing that it’s attached to.