Conservation Comment: Saving analog formats

They may be old school, but don't throw them away if you still love them!

IN THE face of all the excitement about streaming media and cloud storage, many people are left wondering about the future of their old analogue recordings — home movies, vinyl records, video cassettes, photographic negatives and prints — and even older digital ones on CDs and DVDs.

The first thing to recognise is that many older formats have lasted very well. Well-cared-for vinyl is highly fashionable. VHS video tapes recorded in the 1980s can look pretty much the same as when new.

Black and white photographs from the 1940s are still vivid. Many of the dire warnings about them have their origins in the marketing of would-be replacements. Manufacturers told us CDs would make LPs obsolete, that DVDs and CDs were indestructible and e-readers spelled the end of books. None of those predictions has come true.

So, what to do with your treasured collections of not-quite-obsolete media? Digitise them? Upload them? Throw them away?

The most effective thing anybody can do is make sure that their photos, tapes or disks are well stored. Take the time to put them in clean, dry boxes and put the boxes somewhere cool.

The biggest enemies of paper, tape and film are heat and damp. Combined they provide a perfect breeding ground for mould and silverfish.

Storing them well doesn't mean locking them away out of reach. With the possible exception of vinyl records, a well-used collection is likely to last better.

Books should be opened, tapes played and photos looked at. What's the point of keeping them if they are not?

Frank Stark

Of course it's one thing to look at a photo — all you need is a little light — but the continued enjoyment of other media depends on a certain amount of technology conservation as well.

Many people have dusted off their turntables or bought new ones. Some come with a USB output built in, meaning you can digitise as you listen. New VHS players are harder to come by, but there are still plenty on TradeMe and in second-hand shops. Digitising videos however, will not make them look any better, and might well make them seem darker and grainier.

If the lure of more recent, digital technology is too strong, there are transfer options for each medium.

Sound is quite straightforward, with virtually any computer capable of turning the output of a cassette deck or turntable into files.

Video is more challenging, but also possible with a digitising card or external dongle.
Photographic prints and negatives can be scanned on a flatbed.

Film can be roughly done with a cine projector and video camera or more expertly (and expensively), via a specialised agency.

In many cases, though, transfer still requires the original technology — a turntable or tape deck.

And even when the old album, video or photo has made the transition to its new home in the cloud, please don't throw away the original.

You might need it when the servers go down.

Frank Stark is the director of Whanganui Regional Museum.