When storing your tapes, always store them so that they are wound on the takeup reel. This will force you to rewind them before being able to play them back. Always use a deck to rewind the tapes, never a rewind machine. The purpose of this procedure is to even out the tension on the stored tape, as well as to knock any loose magnetic particles from the tapes. Once rewound, they are ready to use again. When done, fast-forward them and put them back in storage.

Make sure you store the tapes on their edge, not lying flat. You also want to make sure the storage area is cool (50-68 degrees) and has a low humidity range (20-50%, with the highest humidity range good only for low-temperature storage). Use fans to circulate the air and, if needed, a dehumidifier, especially during hot, humid summer months.

You should optimally keep three copies of your tapes: the original earliest-generation tape, an archival master used to make other copies if needed and a reference copy for use if you need to loan the footage out to anyone. All three copies should be kept in separate places, so that, if you have a fire or some other disaster, a copy will survive.

Always make sure that you either remove or open the record tab to prevent accidental erasure. Make sure you have clearly labeled and catalogued each copy. And finally, if you do have to examine the tape using the rewind, pause and fast-forward functions a lot, use the reference tape, not the master or original. This will prevent wear and tear on your archival tapes.

Hopefully, we will reach a point where the technology will exist that provides a sturdy, reliable archival storage medium that is inexpensive and readily available. There is some hope for the new solid-state technologies, but they have a long way to go before they reach a point of usefulness. Until then, it is a good practice to set up a program to cycle through your media, creating new master tapes using the latest technology and starting with the oldest and most important tapes in your collection. If you store and use them properly, your tape masters can last for decades. If you are careful and cycle your oldest footage through the process every decade, you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor for some years to come.

Contributing editor Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D. teaches video and film production at the college level and is an independent video/film director.

We are all enamored with technology. We love the newest gadgets that are bigger and faster, with more bells and whistles. However, when it comes to hard drives, bigger is definitely not better. Recently I had the unfortunate experience of watching my terabyte drive with over 850GB of photo and document footage sit there and spin with absolutely no recognition from the computer. Three months of editing, digitizing and organizing down the drain.

Yes, I might be able to retrieve the data, because the most likely culprit is the card that helps the computer talk to the hard drive, but have you seen the prices they are charging for data retrieval - especially when it is almost a terabyte of information? Thousands! I'm glad I still have the original tapes and photo cards.

So what lesson have I learned? Don't rely on hard drives, and especially don't put all your materials in one place (kind of sounds like the old words of wisdom about not putting all of your eggs in one basket!). Smaller hard drives spread the risk and will be used less often. Organize and label them wisely and remember: they are absolutely not an archival option.