What is the Best Way to Store Digital Copies of Old Media?

There are several choices to store digitized DVDs, videotape, slides, cassettes and records.

• Hardcopy, including digitized disks, photographs, and magnetic tape
• Hard Drives
  • Online, meaning computer disks that are always on when the computer is on
  • Backups, discs that are stored and can be attached to a computer when needed
• Cloud Storage, connected to a third party storage system, usually through the internet

Each of these methods have advantages and disadvantages that affect durability and longevity of digital media.

The Best Way to Store Digital VHS, Digital Cassettes, and Digital Slides

Even digital video and audio have risks. Electronic devices can wear out. Electronic devices have a large, but limited number of times they can be turned on. It is not a fixed number, but it is not unlimited either.

Using cloud storage is also very reliable, but not necessarily permanent. The risk is whether or not the company is still in business 10, 20 or 50 years from now.

Given the risks, the best way to store digital memories is to use:

1. Multiple hard drives.
   A. At least one external hard drive.
   B. One additional hard drive, internal or external.
2. One additional hard drive, internal or external.
3. Use a major brand cloud service.
4. Copy your memories to new hard drives (internal and external) every 5 years.
5. Review cloud service choices annually.

Hardcopy Storage for Videotape, Slides, and Cassettes to Digital

Customers often want something tangible to store their memories. This requires a ‘hard’ copy, unique to each medium. For example:

• Slides require the actual slide and/or a paper print.
• Negatives also require maintenance of the negative itself.
• Photos – printed from negatives.
• Videotape is the physical medium for magnetic tape.
• Cassettes and records are ‘hard copy’ for audio.
• DVDs store data, audio and/or video.
• CDs likewise store data and/or audio.
• USBs and hard drives can also be the hard version of digital video and audio.

Also Read – How Should I Store My Precious Digital Memories After Negative Scanning in Denver?

Disadvantages to Store Hardcopy for Digitized Slides

The primary disadvantage to any form of storage is that they all wear out. Some forms last a very long time, but nothing is actually permanent.

The formats that deteriorate the fastest are the older, analog formats or the printed versions of photographic images.

Slides and negatives are printed on film, which is usually cellulose based. Cellulose will deteriorate over time resulting in warping and increasing brittleness. The rate at which the deterioration occurs is dependent on temperature and relative humidity. Mold can grow on film, ‘eating’ the cellulose.

Film is coated with chemicals that are sensitive to light that change according to the light that the lens exposes. Chemicals ‘fade’ over time based on the amount and type of light exposure, temperature and humidity, and just plain aging. Different film brands have different chemical compositions so the rate and type of decay and fading varies.

Slides are shown through projectors with automatic slide changers. Slides show scratches in the surface from imperfect projectors, permanently damaging the slides. Negatives, slides can be scratched if not stored in protective sleeves, but they can also be scratched when sliding in and out of those sleeves.

Finally, the slide frame itself deteriorates over time, often warping in humidity, and eventually detaches from the slide.

If slides and negatives have been stored in low temperature, low relative humidity, and in airtight containers, they will last longer.

Future viewing capability is a major disadvantage for hardcopy storage for slides and negatives that is often overlooked. Working viewing machinery is already rare and even if the hardcopy is preserved well for another 100 years, it is unlikely that the necessary machinery will exist. At some point when the demand to scan slides to digital declines, the equipment to scan them will also disappear.

Disadvantages for Hardcopy Storage for Digitized VHS/Videotape

There are two primary disadvantages to storing video (and audio) on its original format:

1. Magnetic tape deteriorates over time.
2. They require working players to use them.

Time all by itself will cause magnetic tape to deteriorate whether there is analog or digital information stored on them. They wear out just a little bit each time they are played, and a faulty player can permanently destroy the contents. Magnetic fields, from magnets themselves or electrical wires can also destroy the information on the tape if are close enough.

Even if the magnetic tape (audio or video) were perfectly stored, they require appropriate machines to play them in the future. Since video tapes players are already rare, with cassettes players to follow soon, at some point there will be no machines to play tapes.

CDS and DVDs share some of the same problems. They require machines to play them. There are a wide variety of disks with different life expectancies, but even if a disk lasts 1,000 years, they are worthless unless there is a machine to play them. CDs and DVDs can also be scratched, deteriorate over time, and can be dropped or.

Disadvantages of Digital Storage Methods

Converting Slides to Digital, as well as Videotape to Digital, raises the question of storage. Again, storing them in CD or DVD format gives a ‘hardcopy’ choice as can USBs or hard drives.  By Definition, disk options limit the quality of the digitized media.

Each of these choices will, at some point, wear out. CDs and DVDs will wear out eventually, not to mention that CD and DVD players will eventually become unavailable just like videotape players. Disks can also be scratched through normal handling, cracked and broken, dropped on hard surfaces, etc. Once damaged like this, the damage cannot be undone.

Hard drives and USBs are much more reliable, but they do not least forever. They can be powered up many, many times, but not unlimited.

Cloud storage is also a great option, but the risk is how stable the cloud storage company will be in the future. If you do use cloud storage, be sure to choose one that synchronizes with your hard disk(s) in real time.

Advantages to Store Hardcopy for Digitized Slides

The one advantage of hardcopy slides, negatives, or photos is that, if stored well, contain the original images at the time of ‘taking’ the photo. They can be placed in photo albums, framed for walls, and organized in traditional ways.

In light of all of the disadvantages, the good news is that you can also keep the originals even if you used digitized versions to back them up.

Advantages of Digital Storage

The advantages of CD and DVD storage is that they are familiar to many people who already have players and experience with them.

Hard drives have the advantage that they do not need special players (though they exist) to play them. Phones, computers, and TVs all play digital files for example. They can also be copied to multiple devices at multiple locations, and even virtual locations via the internet – the cloud. Multiple copies is the key advantage and key to making digital storage work.

Online files can be easily shared worldwide through email and/or cloud services.

The advantages of digital storage are simple, fundamentally sound, and essential to long term storage of your memories.

Store Digitized Files? Next Steps

1. Call or text Jamey (About Jamey) at 720 204-5464.
2. Set an appointment (every project receives my individual attention).
3. Drop off your tapes (and records, cassettes, slides, or negatives, too). Check Pricing!
4. In a week or less, pick up your new digitized VHS.