What a nasty noise it makes as the mould comes off. Colin you do a great job of recovering peoples precious recordings. Pity that no one has found a chemical to remove the mould easier :-(
There are chemicals capable of removing mould of course (though removing the spores is another issue) but these tapes are pure Metal Particle or Metal Evaporated. To prevent the metal oxidising which would destroy the recording, at manufacture a thin coating was applied to the metal particles. The coating cannot be breached. As I understand it, whatever chemical is used to remove the mould must not also damage the coating, or it's game over. I believe this is a big problem with treating these tape types, and the reason why compared with say Ferric or Chrome tapes, Metal tapes have a lower chance of successful recovery from flood, chemical, mould etc damage. I've used Colin's "dry" method on 8mm tapes and it mostly worked (thanks Colin!) but there was only a small amount of mould involved and getting the back tension right was tricky. It would be good to know if there are chemicals which can remove the mould, but not breach the coating.
Amazing how the mould can stick the tape so strongly. Excellent tips in this video. I'd be interested to know how much useful video recovery you managed from the tapes you showed!
I work with these tapes to convert in Brazil, here in the northern part of Brazil, 90% of the tapes that arrive here, in addition to mold, there is a type of insect chemistry. When tapes were stuck, it was a nightmare, but I decided to use a technique that involves leaving it in water for around 1 or 2 hours, the tape comes off, so I waste less time treating it, before it took around 4 to 5 hours, now in around 1 to 2 hours.
Mould will also contaminate the heads and rollers and transmit itself to other tapes. Same problem with floppy disks. I'm personally surprised none of the larger DV formats use metal base cassettes. You would think being a professional format they would do something like that, especially for the larger cassettes?
I don't clean the flanges, they are cosmetic really. Once I've run the tape, though some customers take them back, I don't recommend playing them again.
The man, the myth, the legend. I had to repair an 8mm videotape once that has been teared due to mould. Are you interested in modern film releases on official VHS tapes?
@@video99couk Thank you for the information. That's mostly true, though the limited editions from active VHS labels do command high prices on second market, ebcause those sell out fast. I'll drop you e message, when I release something on VHS that might be interesting to you.
11:44 I know you edited this video with typos, and they're unresolvable on UA-cam, but the text was supposed to say "Can be a memory module for tape ID and recording data."
Metal type videotape seems to be the most susceptible to growing mold. I have seen it growing on the metal type "Audio" tape used by Sony DASH PCM machines like the PCM-3324/48, 34-02and the Mitsubishi X-80/86 X-850, I don't know about the 3M 32 track digital but I suspect it would be the same since 3M-275 is almost exactly the same as Ampex-467 if you think a Large DVCPRO tape is fun to clean, wait till you see 7200 feet of 1/2" 467 on a 12.5" reel, or better yet 1".
@@Matt_Quinn-Personal_Account There's a piece of research waiting to be done on this subject. I agree that it seems there is more than one type of mould at play. Some grows across the tape surface and then it's pretty much trashed. Some will glue the tape together, some seems much weaker. How much of a health hazard it is is also not researched but let's assume it is bad. Oxide tapes on average are thicker than metal so I suspect that is why metal seem to be more of a problem. If you have mould on a thick U-matic oxide tape you may not even notice.
Thank you for the informative video. Doesn’t baking tape suffering from sticky-shed syndrome guarantee that more portions of the recordings will be saved than the method used here?
Me just wondering... How does mould get on tapes...? Is it a storage problem that causes it...? Asking this because I've got a "JVC GY-DV5001 Pro Broadcast video camera" that uses both "MiniDV and Pro Tapes" Still figuring out how to use that camera without tapes...? Can you make a video about that...? Thanks...! 😉😎
Certain brands of tape.. I'm looking at you Fuji... are more prone to mould than others. I suspect the mould spores are already in the tape during manufacture in some cases.
@@video99coukNormally, mold grows in tape due to high temperature and humidity. The recommended temperature for long term storage in a controllable environment is from 38-50F degrees and 25-50% RH. VHS are more tolerant to high levels. It’s the inappropriate temperatures and humidity the main cause of mold on tapes. However, in general, tapes made of ME as part of the composition are more prompts to attract mold than EP.
The customer had to pay. I was in two minds whether to talk about how much this process should be cost. It's time consuming and carries certain health hazards.
Once the mould has been cleared off the tape edges, then they usually play fairly well. Occasionally mould does grow across the tape surface and then they are pretty much toast. I've had a mouldy DAT tape in, and there was nothing I could do with it. Not often I give up but DAT is too thin and a lack of flanges don't help.
Those moldy DVCPro cassettes aren't a thing at all in Ukraine, since 1+1, a Ukrainian TV channel owned by 1+1 Media, stores their DVCPro cassettes in an archive somewhere.
They should probably get them digitised sooner rather than later. DVCPRO machines are known for unreliability. I have three excellent machines (even then one can't record from analogue any more), but most people have given up trying to maintain DVCPRO decks.
@@video99couk Agreed. This huge bulk of DVCPro cassettes would need a bit of digitization more likely sooner, as the format itself is known being unreliable.
What a nasty noise it makes as the mould comes off.
Colin you do a great job of recovering peoples precious recordings.
Pity that no one has found a chemical to remove the mould easier :-(
There are chemicals capable of removing mould of course (though removing the spores is another issue) but these tapes are pure Metal Particle or Metal Evaporated. To prevent the metal oxidising which would destroy the recording, at manufacture a thin coating was applied to the metal particles. The coating cannot be breached. As I understand it, whatever chemical is used to remove the mould must not also damage the coating, or it's game over. I believe this is a big problem with treating these tape types, and the reason why compared with say Ferric or Chrome tapes, Metal tapes have a lower chance of successful recovery from flood, chemical, mould etc damage.
I've used Colin's "dry" method on 8mm tapes and it mostly worked (thanks Colin!) but there was only a small amount of mould involved and getting the back tension right was tricky. It would be good to know if there are chemicals which can remove the mould, but not breach the coating.
Amazing how the mould can stick the tape so strongly. Excellent tips in this video. I'd be interested to know how much useful video recovery you managed from the tapes you showed!
They played virtually perfectly except momentarily where tape was snagged or snapped.
Wow, I'm pleased to hear that @@video99couk
I can see Techmoan on the coffee mug leaking along the tape cleaning all that mould away 7:38.
What a nightmare, and what a shame for old tape formats.
Not even that old, in this case, compared to VHS, Beta or even N1500/N1700 tapes from the 1970s.
Adoro il tuo canale e il tuo laboratorio,sei un grande!
I work with these tapes to convert in Brazil, here in the northern part of Brazil, 90% of the tapes that arrive here, in addition to mold, there is a type of insect chemistry. When tapes were stuck, it was a nightmare, but I decided to use a technique that involves leaving it in water for around 1 or 2 hours, the tape comes off, so I waste less time treating it, before it took around 4 to 5 hours, now in around 1 to 2 hours.
I've never put tapes into water, very scary.
Nice work, but very time consuming. Happy New Year.
Mould will also contaminate the heads and rollers and transmit itself to other tapes. Same problem with floppy disks.
I'm personally surprised none of the larger DV formats use metal base cassettes. You would think being a professional format they would do something like that, especially for the larger cassettes?
I would love to see the setup you have with the motor - considering doing the same thing
I would suggest getting a VHSisLIFE tape cleaning machine, I've reviewed one of those recently. It does what my rig does and a bit more.
Just wondered if you clean the mould off the tape spool flanges or is it on the tape only?
I don't clean the flanges, they are cosmetic really. Once I've run the tape, though some customers take them back, I don't recommend playing them again.
The man, the myth, the legend. I had to repair an 8mm videotape once that has been teared due to mould.
Are you interested in modern film releases on official VHS tapes?
Alas no, I can't really make use of VHS films. They generally have no value, except some very rare titles.
@@video99couk Thank you for the information. That's mostly true, though the limited editions from active VHS labels do command high prices on second market, ebcause those sell out fast. I'll drop you e message, when I release something on VHS that might be interesting to you.
11:44
I know you edited this video with typos, and they're unresolvable on UA-cam, but the text was supposed to say "Can be a memory module for tape ID and recording data."
I keep making typos! There is no spell checking the DaVinci Resolve.
@@video99couk Then you might have ended up editing an up-and-coming video with all of the words written correctly.
Metal type videotape seems to be the most susceptible to growing mold. I have seen it growing on the metal type "Audio" tape used by Sony DASH PCM machines like the PCM-3324/48, 34-02and the Mitsubishi X-80/86 X-850, I don't know about the 3M 32 track digital but I suspect it would be the same since 3M-275 is almost exactly the same as Ampex-467 if you think a Large DVCPRO tape is fun to clean, wait till you see 7200 feet of 1/2" 467 on a 12.5" reel, or better yet 1".
@@Matt_Quinn-Personal_Account There's a piece of research waiting to be done on this subject. I agree that it seems there is more than one type of mould at play. Some grows across the tape surface and then it's pretty much trashed. Some will glue the tape together, some seems much weaker. How much of a health hazard it is is also not researched but let's assume it is bad. Oxide tapes on average are thicker than metal so I suspect that is why metal seem to be more of a problem. If you have mould on a thick U-matic oxide tape you may not even notice.
Thank you for the informative video. Doesn’t baking tape suffering from sticky-shed syndrome guarantee that more portions of the recordings will be saved than the method used here?
@@willianaleman6114Tape baking can help with sticky shed syndrome, but that's a different problem to tape being glued together with mould.
@@video99coukAs always, thank you for your informative responses.
Have you ever tried flexing the spool flanges away from the tape? Or would that cause more damage?
They would usually snap or break off the top of the spool centre.
Me just wondering...
How does mould get on tapes...? Is it a storage problem that causes it...?
Asking this because I've got a "JVC GY-DV5001 Pro Broadcast video camera" that uses both "MiniDV and Pro Tapes"
Still figuring out how to use that camera without tapes...?
Can you make a video about that...?
Thanks...! 😉😎
Certain brands of tape.. I'm looking at you Fuji... are more prone to mould than others. I suspect the mould spores are already in the tape during manufacture in some cases.
@@video99coukNormally, mold grows in tape due to high temperature and humidity. The recommended temperature for long term storage in a controllable environment is from 38-50F degrees and 25-50% RH. VHS are more tolerant to high levels. It’s the inappropriate temperatures and humidity the main cause of mold on tapes. However, in general, tapes made of ME as part of the composition are more prompts to attract mold than EP.
I should start microdosing videotape.
Whether customers voluntarily pay for the removal of mold was neglected here. Sorry, Google Translate.
The customer had to pay. I was in two minds whether to talk about how much this process should be cost. It's time consuming and carries certain health hazards.
mould will dominate the Earth. even nukes wont obliterate it 😂
If the mold has not eaten itself through the emulsion these can still be rescued easily. Not much succes with molded DAT tapes though......
Once the mould has been cleared off the tape edges, then they usually play fairly well. Occasionally mould does grow across the tape surface and then they are pretty much toast. I've had a mouldy DAT tape in, and there was nothing I could do with it. Not often I give up but DAT is too thin and a lack of flanges don't help.
Those moldy DVCPro cassettes aren't a thing at all in Ukraine, since 1+1, a Ukrainian TV channel owned by 1+1 Media, stores their DVCPro cassettes in an archive somewhere.
They should probably get them digitised sooner rather than later. DVCPRO machines are known for unreliability. I have three excellent machines (even then one can't record from analogue any more), but most people have given up trying to maintain DVCPRO decks.
@@video99couk Agreed. This huge bulk of DVCPro cassettes would need a bit of digitization more likely sooner, as the format itself is known being unreliable.