Picture tube TV poll ... Am I the only person ... ???

[UnderdogDJLSW]

But, is archiving VHS tapes to DVD-r's really safe ? ... I mean if you plan on junking the tapes afterward.

I know exactly what you mean. Right now I've been making DVDs of family movies and then laboriously converting them to digital on the computer, but I'll never get rid of the master tapes.

[ctc]

>I can imagine those tapes lasting longer then a DVD-r

Maybe; but there's a lot of difference in quality with VHS tapes. I've got some that are 20+ years old and still play well, and some that are unwatchable. The way I see it, even if the tapes last a while the players won't. Plus; there's some question about tvs. A lot of the older tapes don't sound right played on newer tvs. I suspect there's some sort of wizardry that happens when you go from older audio to new.

....and even if you've got a vcr, co-ax is about 3 generations of connector ago. One or two more and you'll have a helluva time attaching a vcr to a tv....

Don C.

[ODBJBG]

Wth DVR you can burn 1,000 copies plus keep some on your hard drives. That's the difference.

VHS won't ever be able to compare to that.

[haggis]

My tube TV(had it since'95) is on its' way out...dying. I've ordered a new Sony LCD TV and will pick it up next week. From what I've heard, I can look forward to buying my NEXT flatscreen TV in 3-5 years!

[trekman101]

My two main tv's are monster tube sony's......we have a small flat screen in the dinning room....to tell you the truth I still like tubes better I have two vcr's ...one that I need to play with to get it to work and another that is to use only when needed...I only have old stuff on vhs.....I will be geting a blu-ray player when I have extra money though.

[cjefferys]

But, is archiving VHS tapes to DVD-r's really safe ? ... I mean if you plan on junking the tapes afterward.

I can imagine those tapes lasting longer then a DVD-r ... Hell, they're already 20 year old or more

Not sure if I can imagine DVD-rs lasting 20+ years.

Yeah, I have 20 year old plus tapes that still play fine, but I too am skeptical that DVD-Rs will last that long. I mostly want to transfer for watching convenience, but plan on storing the tapes. If you use a good brand of blank disc (eg Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim) and back up the discs every five years or so, you might be ok. (but there's no guarantee). I wouldn't trust one to last 20 years though, the ink used to record the data will almost certainly have suffered some chemical breakdown by that point.

[ctc]

>I wouldn't trust one to last 20 years though, the ink used to record the data will almost certainly have suffered some chemical breakdown by that point.

True; but by then we'll have seen at least six different format changes, so you'll end up recopying them every few years ANYWAY.

Don C.

[Dave Mc]

But, is archiving VHS tapes to DVD-r's really safe ? ... I mean if you plan on junking the tapes afterward.

I can imagine those tapes lasting longer then a DVD-r ... Hell, they're already 20 year old or more

Not sure if I can imagine DVD-rs lasting 20+ years.

If you want to keep it, you should most certainly transfer those tapes to DVD. VHS degrades just sitting on the shelf, and you loose quality duplicating them to another tape. Get them on DVD and make a backup copy. If you want to mantain quality (some suspect that home burned DVD-r's could become unplayable after a few years, although I've had some for 7 plus and they play just fine) copy the DVD to a new DVD after 5 years and you'll get a copy of equal quality that will be good for at least another 5 years.

This is just a supposed problem with burned media, and not store bought glass mastered and pressed DVD's.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I just bought a 52" LCD. Love it, it is more compact and lighter so takes up less spacea and is easier to move. I do still have two 27" picture tube sets for the kids use and my wifes use while she is back and forth between the kitchen and living room. The big TV is for "my" room...the man cave....LOL
I picked up a Sony VCR just before they stopped selling them for $100.00. Don't use it much but have never had any problems with it. Still have a Panasonic from years ago I got for $60.00 too.

[cjefferys]

>I wouldn't trust one to last 20 years though, the ink used to record the data will almost certainly have suffered some chemical breakdown by that point.

True; but by then we'll have seen at least six different format changes, so you'll end up recopying them every few years ANYWAY.

Don C.

That could be a problem when data storage formats inevitably move away from optical disc based ones. Thus far we've had such disc based formats for quite some time and they've all been backwards compatible (i.e. DVD-ROM drives can play CDs, BD-ROM drives can play DVDs and CDs, etc). And call me optimistic, but I have a feeling I'll have some way of playing a disc on my computer 20 years from now, even if I have to buy an old drive for it.

[Tyme2tyme]

Yes, my TV is 27 inches and weighs about 500 pounds

I've got a 36" tube set and it took me and two friends to get it into the house. I've thought about going to a flat screen but the thought of moving the old tv out has stopped me so far JOHN

[Mikey]

One thing that scares me about flat screen TV's ... Unlike picture tube TV's, I heard flat screens cannot be repaired ...
I've heard the price of having one repaired is likely more then buying a brand new one.
That kind of spooks me considering flat screen are not cheap.

[toys2cool]

One thing that scares me about flat screen TV's ... Unlike picture tube TV's, I heard flat screens cannot be repaired ...
I've heard the price of having one repaired is likely more then buying a brand new one.
That kind of spooks me considering flat screen are not cheap.

it is pretty expensive to repair, but not that much

[Cosmicman]

We used to have one of those large wooden console televisions when we were kids. It would take my step father and my uncle to move it when my parents would move to another place or if they were going to move it to the other side of the room.



The thing stood the test of time and in the end before they trashed it, it was used as a stand for a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in the basement area.

It actually worked before they trashed it. The only thing wrong was when you turned it on, everything looked green. One of the color tubes was fired. People on the TV almost like they were turning into Hulks and had Gamma poisoning.

[Mikey]

We had a huge console one too.

Check out my post here for a picture of our old one.

All wood ... no fake plastic wood

Christmas in the 70's book project - Page 4 - Mego Talk

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