I share the opinion Laura mentioned below from the Video at Risk guidelines regarding the obsolescence of VHS playback equipment. You can still buy VCRs new, though each year they seems to be slowly fading further out of the commercial market. I think a time where VCRs meet this definition is coming very soon, but we’re not quite there.
In the one-off cases where we have transferred VHS, it’s been based on other factors defined in 108 such as damaged or lost. We haven’t really broached using “deteriorating” as a reason. I think this factor is way more nebulous than equipment obsolescence, but ripe for some data driven, well-reasoned best practices. Kim Stanton Head, Media Library University of North Texas [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> P:(940) 565-4832 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Laura Jenemann Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2014 12:45 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Videolib] VHS equipment obsolescence Thanks for the posting, Elena. I hope that there is someone who can provide the experience of VHS viewing in the future. Yet there are some who would say that the VHS deck and soon, the optical disc drive, is already obsolete or so near obsolescence that the playback should not be supported in a non-archival context. At the same time, Video at Risk <http://www.nyu.edu/tisch/preservation/research/video-risk/VideoAtRisk_SECTION108_Guidelines_2013.pdf> (pp. 8-9) notes that: “so long as new, reasonable high quality consumer grade DVD/VHS players are still advertised for sale in the commercial marketplace at a reasonable cost, 108 (c)’s definition of ‘obsolete’ likely will not extend to VHS.” Should the consideration of VHS equipment as “obsolete” be made on a case-by-case basis, then? Regards, Laura Laura Jenemann Film Studies/Media Services Librarian George Mason University 703-993-7593 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Elena Rossi-Snook Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2014 11:45 AM To: Videolib Listserv Subject: Re: [Videolib] VHS equipment obsolescence I would first ask how obsolescence is being defined. Does it still work? Is the content and the performance still relevant/applicable? It's safe to say that VHS is no longer the market standard (duh), but there are titles on VHS that never were (and, in the case of Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film never could be because of copyright) transferred to DVD. And then there are the nuances of the VHS "version"- not all titles across different formats are created equal. The current DVD of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas has been remastered with a totally different color palette and Disney on digital formats is practically a different species from the straight film-->tape transfers they did for VHS release (artist's sketch lines on the original cell animation have been digitally removed). Format does not define quality and merit and I still rely on VHS in the classroom [at Pratt]. So as long as we need and desire to access the content (and, for some, the experience) of VHS, the equipment will never become obsolete. Elena Rossi-Snook Archivist Reserve Film and Video Collection The New York Public Library On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 11:23 AM, Laura Jenemann <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi Videolib, I would like to revisit a discussion that recurs on this list regarding obsolescence of VHS equipment. Is VHS equipment obsolete? Guideline 2 of the Video at Risk<http://www.nyu.edu/tisch/preservation/research/video-risk/VideoAtRisk_SECTION108_Guidelines_2013.pdf> report (p.8) discusses this, but I would appreciate additional feedback. Thank you very much. Regards, Laura Laura Jenemann Film Studies/Media Services Librarian George Mason University 703-993-7593<tel:703-993-7593> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
