News

News spotlights:

News by company:

News by product:

Windows XP | Windows Vista | Asus Eee PC | Apple iPhone | Windows 7

July 23, 2008

VHS memories destroyed by tape mould

Fine white dust makes tapes unwatchable

Carrie-Ann Skinner

VHS tapes that contain precious footage of weddings, family holidays or even your child's first steps, may be at risk from mould, according to Pinnacle.

The software developer says tape mould coats video tapes in a fine white dust, which makes them unwatchable. And according to restoration expert Chris Fears, the wet summers of the last three years have compounded the problem.

He told The Guardian: "It has got to the stage that we open up all the packages of tapes we are sent in a separate room, away from our playing equipment and then we wash and disinfect our hands, because it is so contagious. If it got on to the tape heads in our machines, it would spread everywhere. It's almost like the measles.”

"We all have those special memories we want to keep hold of. Although we may be in for a rude awakening when we find them covered in the mould's fine white dust and rendered totally unwatchable," said a Pinnacle spokesperson.

Keep up to date by adding PC Advisor News to your iGoogle home page or Google Reader

Submit to: Digg Digg Slashdot delicious Del.icio.us reddit Reddit

What is this?

<<newer story | back to index | older story>>

Subscribe to PC Advisor now and claim your FREE gift

Comments received

Gary said on Thursday, 24 July 2008

So how much does Pinnacle stand to make from this potential disaster and we all have no alternative but to take it seriously. I transfered my precious memories already.

Alex Taylor said on Thursday, 24 July 2008

This is old news to me. I collect old Betamax stuff, and I've had boxes full of tapes with a white powder coating showing on the tape. I chucked them away, I daren't put them anywhere near a machine. Incorrect storage of tapes seems to be to main problem.

Fred said on Friday, 25 July 2008

Oh my word, not the measles!

Search reviews

Search news

Search blogs

Broadband?

Recent reviews

Reviews index

Latest reader comments

Top news

News index

Latest blog entries

Blogs index

Our RSS feeds

Latest technology news:

Sponsored links

Why settle for less?
Numbers of reviews and awards to our products prove that Sandberg peripherals and gadgets are the best products you can get for your money. Subscribe to our newsletter and get the chance to win Sandberg products every month.

Directly from Germany - Great sound for Great Britain
New in UK. Want excellent sound and can’t afford the usual prices? Get Teufel speakers – now available in Great Britain!

Free on-demand Webcast!
Learn how the London School of Economics (LSE) delivers real-time IT Services to remote users. Using LogMeIn Rescue, LSE receives a 95%+ Satisfaction rating from staff. Register Today!

Software for Home
Buy Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Office Professional and much more for home with student discounts of up to 90%. Students & Family find out more!

Software optimization can be as effective as hardware upgrades.
With a huge advantage of being 30 times cheaper. Auslogics BoostSpeed combines all the tools needed to make your computer run much faster. The winner of the 5-star award from CNET in April 2008.

PC Tools
“PC Tools is a global leader in innovative software products designed to protect the privacy and security of Windows® computer users. With millions of downloads world wide, Spyware Doctor is a trusted, easy to use and highly effective detection, removal and blocking anti-spyware tool. “

	Agfa
	Brother
	Canon
	Dell
	Epson
	HP
	Kodak
	Konica Minolta
	Lexmark
	Mitsubishi
	Oki
	Olivetti
	Panasonic
	Polaroid
	Ricoh
	Samsung
	Sony
	Xerox

Expert Advice You Can Trust

The magazine

Poll