07/26/2026
I have had the good fortune to help hundreds of people preserve their memories over the last few years from aging videotapes. As time goes by those tapes can continue to deteriorate. Some get a visible white mold on them because they were not stored properly (see photo). It is especially difficult with 8mm and MiniDV videotapes because they are not as robust as VHS tape. This can lead to sticking and shedding that causes the tape to continue to break when playing. Sometimes it can be resolved by baking the tape but it increases the cost. Some companies - they shall remain unnamed - won't even attempt to remedy the issue. We try everything possible to preserve what we can from tapes suffering from these types of issues.
