Philadelphia's Marion Stokes “compulsively recorded & stored ~40,000 VHS tapes of news broadcasts from 1979 & 2012”, eventually donated it to archives

[basquebromance]

Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman who began recording the news during the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979, and didn’t stop until her death in 2012

The woman who recorded 70,000 VHS tapes of... news

A Q&A with the director of ‘Recorder,’ a new documentary about archivist Marion Stokes’ project to chronicle the news cycle.

theoutline.com

 

[shockedcanadian]

Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman who began recording the news during the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979, and didn’t stop until her death in 2012

The woman who recorded 70,000 VHS tapes of... news

A Q&A with the director of ‘Recorder,’ a new documentary about archivist Marion Stokes’ project to chronicle the news cycle.

theoutline.com

A treasure trove of historic significance, especially with the advent of the internet.

 

[basquebromance]

A treasure trove of historic significance, especially with the advent of the internet.

they really should put them on youtube...maybe they already have?

 

[OhPleaseJustQuit]

A treasure trove of historic significance, especially with the advent of the internet.

And far more difficult to "creatively edit" than digital media. They must be locked in a vault. Stored as actual historical fact.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

And far more difficult to "creatively edit" than digital media. They must be locked in a vault. Stored as actual historical fact.

They must be digitally recorded.
I would say the earlier tapes need professionally cleaned and re-recorded to be watchable.
For instance the VHS tape of my first marriage in 1987. My first wife had it sealed like she was told to.
And for years it sat in a closet. A decade went by, another decade went by.
I don't remember why, but we decided to watch it. It was very grainy, and the voices sounded weird.

Truth is, VHS tapes even stored in the very best of conditions, will lose about 20% of it's quality in 10-15 years. Depending on the quality of the tape you chose when you recorded it.
It will lost at least 1%-2% of quality every year.
That means the older tapes have lost a minimum of 50% of it's signals. Likely barely watchable.

 

[basquebromance]