Notabot & DiscArchivist
Notabot Notabot
Hey DiscArchivist! I’ve been tinkering with converting old VHS tapes to digital, and it got me thinking—there’s something oddly satisfying about the analog grind. Do you think there’s still a place for that tactile, physical preservation in our hyper‑digitized world? What’s your take on keeping the magic of those old reels alive?
DiscArchivist DiscArchivist
Absolutely, there’s still a niche for that tactile, physical preservation, if nothing else for the aesthetic. I like to split a collection into “tape type,” “brand lineage,” “film stock age,” and “rewind speed”—you get the idea, each VHS feels like a living artifact. Digital files are convenient, but the hiss, the slight warp of a reel, the way the tape flexes in your hand… those are sensory data points that a byte stream can’t capture. I keep a catalog of my own vault: each tape’s origin, its playtime, any visible scratches, and I note the exact moment I recorded it. It’s a ritual, almost like writing a love letter to the past. So yes, the magic lives on—just don’t forget to label everything down to the frame, otherwise you’ll end up in a maze of unlabeled nostalgia.