what would happen to video tapes if you stored them away for year or so?

Answer 1

A year or so...nothing will really happen but just get dusty.
After a year and going on a few years...they will deteriorate.
Just keep them away from warm and moist enviroments.
Case them or put them in the sleeves if you have them.
that will help them last longer.
It would help if you had a plastic store-it container with lid rather than a regular carddboard box

Answer 2

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE: I have Video Tapes stored back for over 8 years now and once in a while one will get ate up by the VCR, but otherwise in good shape. The picture quality degrades over time.., but very watchable so far. I think I have one or two that are 12 years old and still reasonably good.

There is a "slight" loss of color..., but no so much as you would notice. DVD's however have a sharper picture, even when made on a home DVD Recorder and that depends on the speed setting you record on. HQ (1 hour) is the best quality and SP (2 hours) as well as SPP (1 hour 30 minutes) are really good. And best of all, the color or quality picture never degrades.

Non the less.., VHS tapes just don't degrade as unwatchable even after 8 to 10 years. I would imagine as long as they are stored in a dry area and kept out of the heat and extreme cold, they would still be watchable in 20 years.

Answer 3

It depends a lot on storage environment. Keep dry and dust free, away from any excessive heat, cold, or electrical and magnetic influence. That should keep the tape coating on for an extended period and the dry bearing surfaces safe from degradation. Also there is very little chance of loosing recording quality and content of
recording. The shelf life could be then determined buy the recording quality of the tape, since the higher quality tape has better coating.
Just go by price and storage, to put it simply. Hope that is what you wanted.

Answer 4

Forget about some of the answers you got.
The color of VHS tapes will only last for about 10 years at best no matter how good you store them. L O L not 65 years like one person said. And how would he know that ?
I have over 40 tapes that I stored in a good place over 10 years ago and the color is now washed out. 8mm tape will last at lest a 100 years. I have some that are over 50 years old and they look as good as the day they were taken.

Answer 5

It depends on how old those tapes are to begin with. If they are tapes you have been using for years and years, they are not going to be in great shape to begin with. Video recording tape deteriorates with age and usage. If you don't store them carefully they will deteriorate even faster. If you have video tapes of material that you want to preserve, you should have them professionally transferred to CD/DVD with copies. Then throw out the tapes.

I just recently completed such a project, and I am so glad I did! The tapes took up so much room, plus they were getting so fragile I was afraid to play them for fear they would snap. A couple of them did, in fact; but the transfer service was able to salvage them.

Once you have all the your stuff preserved on CDs or DVDs and have thrown out the old tapes, go buy some new ones if you still use your VCR. Keep them labeled accurately and transfer any good stuff right away. Keep track of how many times you record on them, and get rid of them the minute they start showing drop-out or other signs of deterioration.

Answer 6

Most Video Tapes, being Magnetically Recorded will last for Years if they are kept in a warm, moist free enviroment. Make sure that they are kept far from Magnets (Speakers and some Video Recorders) because over time the Magnetic pull will begin to erase the Tapes Information.

Answer 7

Nothing I have over 800 video tapes and watch them sporadically. When I go an get one they play just as well as when I first bought them. Its no different than when you buy a video out of a store or online. Those things could have been sitting in a wharehouse for years, before they are sold (especially old movies, my fave). When you get them they play well, don't they. So will the video tapes you store at home.

Answer 8

Personal experience. If not exposed to the elements, the magnetic media is actually being protected by the successive rolls on the tape. My only advice is, if you are unable to transfer important media to DVD, and are going to store tapes for an extended period, rewind them to the beginning. I have found that when I left a tape at a point in the middle for a long time, sometimes the auto-track kicks in / jumps right at that point on the VCR when I play it later (don't know why).

Answer 9

My tapes are stored away for over 10 years. The situation is as follows: the colour of the ones I recorded on double speed has been spoilt. Its basically black and white with pink and green stripes. So if I still want to watch them I turn down the colour and watch them in black and white. The ones that have been recorded at a normal speed are ok. And so are the ones bought from the store.
They are in a cabinet under the tv and VCR, DVD recorders. Maybe that's why some of them are spoilt.

Answer 10

I have old shellac records, audio tapes and video tapes all stored and maintained well in wooden cabinets, away from sunlight and moisture. Even so, only the video tapes have developed white fungus on the edges.

This fungus can be cleaned easily, and if the tapes are carefully cleaned and used, they can even be transferred onto cds, for which will u will need a tv tuner and suitable software like Nero on your pc. If u are serious about retaining your old memories and music etc.do get the tapes transferred onto cds or dvds, which can even be got done through by music and videoshops.

Answer 11

Don't believe these people who say nothing will happen. If you store different types of video tape in close proximity over a long period of time, the chemicals used in the ferrous tape binder can react with each other and 'sweat' out of the tape. If these come in contact with an ignition source, such as static electricity, the results can be explosive! The best way to store video tape for long periods of time is in the freezer.