HomeBusinessJapan scrambles to transform VHS tapes to digital codecs

Japan scrambles to transform VHS tapes to digital codecs

TOKYO (TR) – When a reporter for TV Asahi (Jan. 11) visited an organization that gives dubs VHS tapes to digital codecs, the dimensions of the “Magnetic Tape Problem of 2025” was clear at a single look: piles of cardboard packing containers crammed with VHS tapes.

“Most of the requests are now home videos. So-called memorable footage,” says Yuji Maruyama, the supervisor of Dubbing Copy Revolution. “The story of 2025 has spread. So, the number of requests has increased significantly since learning about it.”

Most of the requests are for recording household journeys and kids’s faculty entrance ceremonies. The variety of requests is double that of the identical month final yr.

VHS tapes and video decks had been born in Japan in 1976 with introduction of the HR-3300 deck by Victor. They grew to become widespread as a result of they allowed folks to get pleasure from motion pictures that might beforehand solely be seen in theaters at residence. On prime of that, they might be simply recorded and performed again repeatedly, making them widespread and a well-known a part of on a regular basis life.

However, for the reason that Heisei Era (1989–2019), DVDs and different digital codecs grew to become the norm, resulting in a halt within the manufacturing of video decks. For the tapes themselves, their expiration is approaching, which is the supply of “problem.”

In 2019, UNESCO declared VHS tapes to be out of date (X)

“Video tape formats are now obsolete”

In 2019, UNESCO sounded the alarm with its “Magnetic Tape Alert Project.”

“Magnetic audio and video tape formats are now obsolete, replay equipment in working condition is disappearing rapidly and the supply and service of spare parts is fading,” the group mentioned. “As a result, the routine transfer of magnetic tape recordings is likely to cease around 2025. The only way to preserve these sounds and images in the long term, and to keep them accessible for future generations, is to digitize them and transfer to them to safe digital repositories.”

The background to that is the problem of playback itself as a result of finish of manufacturing of playback machines, a lower in engineers and the deterioration of VHS tapes themselves, that are mentioned to final for as much as 50 years. With the aforementioned introduction in 1976, which means their expiration is in 2025, this yr.

Victor launched the HR-3300 deck in 1976 (X)

“It’s not something that can be done all at once”

A museum in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture is making efforts to digitize media.

“We started working on this about six years ago,” says Takuya Mori, the curator on the Yokkaichi City Museum. “It’s not something that can be done all at once. So, the museum has to work steadily.”

The museum has a big assortment of magnetic tapes, together with videotapes and cassette tapes, which were collected for the reason that museum opened in 1993. The contents embrace footage of festivals earlier than the battle and information of the town broken by the Ise Bay Typhoon. There are many treasured pictures, equivalent to surroundings from a automotive window taken within the Fifties.

“It is very valuable to know how the [festival] floats moved and how big they were at that time,” Mori says.

In order to increase the interval wherein digitalization may be carried out, the museum must be aware of creating good use of all present playback units with out discarding usable playback units.

The museum makes use of eight playback units, together with Mori’s private belongings and units donated by residents. Mori says that if one breaks down, he repairs it himself.

“It is the museum’s mission to keep at least one machine in working condition,” Mori says.

According to Mori, washi paper has confirmed to the easiest way to chronicle historical past.

“‘The Tale of Genji’ and ‘The Pillow Book’ were all written on washi paper,” he says. “So, they’ve survived for 1000 years. I feel that in 20 or 30 years, somebody like me will come alongside and say, ‘This DVD was made using old machines.’”

Content from VHS tapes can be copied to DVD for between 1,000 and 3,000 yen (X)

“Update file formats regularly”

The National Film Archive of Japan handles the preservation, restoration and release of films.

What can we do to preserve the important records that ordinary households and individuals have stored on magnetic tapes such as VHS and 8mm? We asked Mika Tomita, a senior researcher at

Mika Tomita, Chief Researcher at the archive says the key to preservation of content stored on magnetic tapes is digitization.

“For home movies to enjoy at home, you can create and save multiple copies in a file format such as MPEG-4,” says Tomita. “You need to save these multiple digital files on different media such as hard disks or DVDs in case the storage media becomes unusable.”

Many electronics retailers and specialist companies — the aforementioned Dubbing Copy Revolution, for example — offer services to transfer footage from magnetic tapes such as VHS and 8mm to DVD.

The cost of transferring a single 60-minute VHS tape to DVD is between 1,000 and 3,000 yen. It takes up to 2 months. There is also a service that allows you to play the footage on your smartphone using a code for an additional fee.

Tomita points out that digital media requires the latest in technology to ensure compatibility.

“If the OS or version of your computer changes, you may not be able to open your digital files,” Tomita says. “It’s necessary to replace file codecs frequently. Furthermore, even when you save them on DVDs, there’s a excessive probability that the DVDs themselves will deteriorate or the participant will now not work. It’s essential to switch storage media each 3 to five years.”



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