KNOXVILLE, Tenn — There are millions of memories trapped on VHS tapes in the form of home videos. The longer those tapes sit, the higher chance they will degrade and disappear.
There are several options for saving and digitizing that proof of the past. The best time to start the process is now.
The looming threat of deterioration is the main driver behind why I, WBIR reporter Katie Inman, decided to convert my own home movies using a free resource at the Knox County Library.
It's called the Memory Lab and it's located in the Lawson McGhee Library downtown Knoxville. It's part of a program through the Sights and Sounds Department, according to manager Van Walker.
"So many people no longer have a way to even see what's on these tapes," Walker said. " They're in danger of losing them. They can get damaged, they can get lost."
The Memory Lab allows people to bring in-home movies in a variety of formats, including VHS, Hi8, and MiniDV. You can also bring in SD cards, photographs, and different forms of still film to scan.
When it comes to transferring and digitizing videotapes, the biggest price you will pay is in your time.
The process of getting your videos onto a digital platform happens in real-time, so if you have a tape that is one hour in length, it will take you one hour to convert it.
"If you have the time to do it, it's a great way to get acquainted with those memories," Walker said.
You aren't left to your own devices to figure out how to use the equipment. A library staff member sets everything up and coaches you through how to handle your precious memories. You have control over what you record and what you view.
"When you get it digitally, it's so easy to share," Walker said. "You can really disseminate those memories that before, you know, everybody had to huddle around the machine and watch it on TV."
Looking through, I found moments from growing up I had forgotten. The images on the other end of the transfer were of my 2-year-old birthday party, opening presents on Christmas morning, and a look at family members who are gone, but live on through the play button.
Despite the best efforts, though, some scenes and tapes end up scrambled and can't be viewed anymore.
"It's, of course, magnetic tape, and it's just going to start flaking off, especially if it's in hot weather or warm conditions," Eric Dawson, the McClung Historical Collection Manager said. "It's just not going to be readable here in the near future."
Dawson knows the importance of preserving every piece of video, no matter the format.
"A lot of people end up having home movies on 8mm, super 8, 16mm, and they're not quite sure what to do with that stuff, and that's where we come in."
That "we" means the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, otherwise known as TAMIS.
The team, which is associated with the Knox County Public Library, located in the East Tennessee History Center on Gay Street, has converted thousands of home and historic films.
"What we do is we take these films, we inspect them, we clean them, we digitize them, and then we put them in a cold storage vault where they're going to be protected," Dawson said.
While most people don't have a cold storage vault handy, the hard copies should be kept with care in your home too. It's a good idea to keep them in a sealed box where temperatures won't fluctuate.
"Definitely get it out of a garage or attic," Dawson said. "You want to get it into the coolest most stabilized place in the house."
There are ways to send off your tapes where a business converts them for you and sends everything back. Those options can get pricy, but if you don't have the time to convert the tapes yourself, it's a viable option.
You can also buy a device and fire up your VCR or appropriate camcorder to digitize those files yourself at home.
Whatever way you choose, time is ticking.
"If you're interested at all in preserving these things, you should act now," Dawson said. "The longer we wait, the more deteriorated things might be, or you can't work with it anymore after a certain point."
If the videos just sit on the shelf, the peek into history could be lost forever.
The Memory Lab is a free service on the second floor of the downtown Knoxville library. All you need is a library card and to be at least 14 years of age. You do need to make an appointment to use the equipment.