Based on 29 years of hands-on experience, working with old video tapes, we found that VHS and Camera tapes (such as MiniDV, 8mm, Digital8, VHS-C, Hi8) often start to age around the 15+ year mark. A significant problem in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast is … MOLD and FUNGUS! Mold is visible whilst fungus is not. Both can destroy a tape if left … to Mother Nature.
Other common signs of video age deterioration include: “snow bands”, “picture flicker” or simply “loss of sharpness” as your tapes age. The good news is that MOLD and FUNGUS can usually be removed from tapes, however “snow bands” and “picture flicker” … cannot! Where tapes are cleanly snapped or have broken cases … these are fixable.