Vinyl, cassettes and VHS: how to store and digitise old media

Prioritise what to save

1. Home recordings first. Family videos, answering machine tapes, recordings of weddings, school plays or relatives' voices exist nowhere else.
2. Tapes showing signs of damage next.
3. Rare or personal vinyl after that.
4. Commercial releases last, since most can be replaced or found elsewhere. Remember that commercial music and films are protected by copyright, and the rules about copying them differ between countries.

Storing vinyl

• Keep records upright, packed snugly but not tightly, never in tall stacks, which can warp them.
• Use inner sleeves, ideally anti-static ones, and keep records in their outer sleeves.
• Hold records by the edges and label to avoid fingerprints on the grooves.
• Avoid heat and sunlight. A record left near a radiator or in a hot car can warp permanently.
• Clean before playing with a soft carbon fibre brush or a dedicated record cleaning solution.
• Check your stylus. A worn needle can damage grooves.

Storing cassettes and VHS

• Store upright in their cases, like books.
• Keep away from magnetic fields such as large speakers and motors.
• Choose a cool, dry, stable spot. Avoid lofts, garages and cellars.
• Rewind fully before storage rather than leaving tapes paused mid-way.
• Break off the record tabs to prevent accidental recording over precious footage.

Signs of trouble

• White spots, fuzzy patches or a musty smell can be mould. Do not play a mouldy tape, as it can damage the player and spread to other tapes.
• Squealing, sticky tape or residue on the heads may mean the binder that holds the magnetic layer has broken down, often called sticky shed. Stop and seek professional help.
• Creased, snapped or tangled tape can often be repaired by a specialist.

Digitising vinyl and cassettes

• Use a turntable or cassette deck in good working order. USB turntables and cassette players exist, but a good-quality traditional player connected to a computer through an audio interface usually sounds better.
• Record with free audio software and set the input level so the loudest parts do not distort.
• Record at good quality and save an uncompressed WAV or a lossless FLAC master before making MP3 copies for everyday listening.
• Split tracks and label them with artist, title and date.
• Go easy on noise reduction. Heavy processing can make audio sound unnatural; keep an untouched master.

Digitising VHS and camcorder tapes

• You need a working player for the format: VHS, VHS-C with an adaptor, or camcorder formats such as Video8, Hi8 or MiniDV.
• Connect it to a computer with a video capture device. Choose one with good reviews for the format you have.
• Clean the player heads if the picture is poor, using a cleaning tape.
• Capture at the original resolution and save to a widely supported format such as MP4.
• Label clips with dates, places and the people in them.

When to use a professional service

Keep your digital copies safe