Re: [AV Media Matters] Videotape Identification Guide

[ggib@loc.gov]

This is very useful, so long as thape remains in its original
container and/or on its reel/package. Does anyone have a means of
identifying the tape if is seperated from the container and/or its
reel? For example, a listing of actual diminisions of the tape
indicating base and various layers (oxide, backing, et al.), coloring
(with actual sample of color), magnetic particle size, et al., would
be very help when we are either not sure that the tape is on its
'proper' reel or when we are reasonably sure that it is not.

Gerry Gibson

Moderators Comment:

While the media and the reel do get separated - in my experience - the
times when it happen when you do not know the format is extremely extremely
rare, and the information that Gerry suggests compiling will do very little
to unravel the mystery in any event if this has happened in the real
practical world.  The most common times that format type loss will happen
is with reel to reel 1/4" audio.   When the tapes are stored tails out they
have been wound on another  reel which is often blank or from another tape
- and in the audio world sometimes they are not wound on a reel at all, but
are stored as "pancake".  Even when this happens, one usually knows the
format or can readily identify it with notes of one sort or another.  While
the information of base and layer composition might be "interesting" in my
opinion it will have very little practical value in the identification of
the tape format for preservation.

At VidiPax we use magnetic developer for these "mystery" tapes.  The main
use of magnetic developer has to do with some of the forensic work that we
do here, but it is very handy to use when trying to figure out track
configuration or even what direction a recording was made on a given piece
of media.  As a recent example, VidiPax was called upon to re master some
very important video art that was made in an obsolete format by a very
famous video artist.  It seems that at the time the recordings were made
the video artist was on a very tight budget - so he went to a surplus store
and bought used computer tape for $1 a roll and did all of his video
recording on that {I guess tape is tape....} .... now his problem was that
he had this 9-track tape that was more or less the correct width as video
tape, but had no reels - but wait - no problem there because 16mm film is
about a half inch wide - so he got some old film reels and spooled it onto
that. So - we had some very important recordings from a video artist on
computer tape that were on 16mm film reels - and yes they were stored under
his bed (literally).  In this scenario - the only thing that will work is
magnetic developer.  We had to figure out the format, figure out the
recording orientation, and then do a whole bunch of restoration work....
you have never seen edge damage until you have seen what a spoked film reel
will do to tape - and remember this was SURPLUS computer tape when he
bought it!!

Manufacturers change the coating specs all of the time, and we cannot
really rely on it.  When all else fails, magnetic developer is the way to go.

I am biased - but I think that Sarah and Paul did a great job on this, and
it is of a great service to our field - I am very pleased that we could
take a part in it.  It was a great idea that was well executed.

jim